Egypt officially returns two islands to Saudi Arabia

Although the people do not agree, the Cairo government believes that these two islands were asked by Riyadh to help keep them more than 60 years ago and should now be returned to their owners.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (left) and Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud happily welcomed each other - Photo: AFP

According to AFP, in a statement on June 24, the Egyptian government said President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had approved an agreement to demarcate the maritime border between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, under which Cairo will transfer sovereignty over the two islands of Tiran and Sanafir in the southern Gulf of Aqaba on the Red Sea to Riyadh.

Previously, the Egyptian Parliament officially approved the above agreement in a plenary session on June 14, after the Parliament's Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee and National Defense and Security Committee both unanimously voted in favor.

The three-day session was also tense as many opposition lawmakers protested, even raising banners during the session.

The maritime border adjustment agreement was signed by Egypt and Saudi Arabia in April 2016 during the visit to Cairo by Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud. Accordingly, the Cairo government agreed to transfer sovereignty over the two islands of Tiran and Sanafir in the Red Sea to Riyadh.

Two uninhabited islands of Tiran and Sanafir in the southern Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea taken from the air - Photo: AFP

The Egyptian government asserts that the two islands of Tiran and Sanafir belong to Saudi Arabia and are under Egyptian control, as Riyadh had previously asked Cairo to protect these islands in the 1950s.

The agreement to adjust maritime borders has faced numerous legal challenges since it was announced in April 2016. Protests against and in support of the agreement have also taken place in several places in Egypt.

In many places the two groups of protesters faced each other fiercely.

Egyptian lawyers take to the streets to protest the return of the islands - Photo: AFP

The Egyptian government also stood firm on its position and took measures to suppress protest groups.

Just last week, after the Egyptian Parliament passed the decision, there were protests and dozens of people were arrested.

In January 2017, the Egyptian Supreme Administrative Court ruled that the agreement was invalid.

Protest against the island return right in the Egyptian Parliament meeting room - Photo: AFP

However, in April 2017, the Cairo Court of Urgent Matters declared that the Egyptian Supreme Administrative Court had no jurisdiction to adjudicate border-related agreements.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stated that there is no legal basis to assert that Egypt owns the two islands of Tiran and Sanafir, and said that the agreement to adjust the maritime border between Egypt and Saudi Arabia was signed between the two governments after 11 rounds of negotiations and Cairo also reported this issue to the United Nations (UN).

According to TTO