Africa · updated 1h ago · 3 min read
Sisi Meets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Cairo to Secure Red Sea Navigation
Sisi backs Saudi call for free and secure Red Sea navigation during Cairo meeting. They discussed securing Bab al-Mandab and Hormuz straits and security tensions including Yemen and Sudan.
19 outlets, one story, no spin found.
8 of 9 outlets skipped it: houthis seized Mocha port and effectively control Bab al-Mandeb.
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Sisi, MBS on Red Sea
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Cairo on Thursday to reaffirm Cairo’s support for Saudi Arabia’s security and sovereignty while discussing mounting regional tensions and the security of key maritime routes.
““an integral part of Egypt’s national security.””
Egyptian presidential spokesman Ambassador Mohamed El-Shenawy said El-Sisi stressed that the security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states was “an integral part of Egypt’s national security.”
The Egyptian presidency said the two leaders discussed protecting maritime navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Bab Al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea, and agreed that current circumstances required closer coordination and solidarity between Cairo and Riyadh.
The Express Tribune reported that Sisi and MBS stressed the need to ensure freedom and security of navigation in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea during talks, with the Egyptian presidency framing the issue as a priority for the bilateral exchange.
Reactions and wider context
Arab News quoted Ambassador Salah Halima, a former Egyptian assistant foreign minister, saying the visit was among the most important recent exchanges between the two countries because it came at a time of intense regional escalation.
Arab News also quoted Ambassador Mohamed Hegazi, another former assistant foreign minister, pointing to El-Sisi’s meeting with the Iranian president at the BRICS summit in New Delhi as conveying a clear Egyptian message on the need to halt attacks and reduce regional tensions.
TRT World said the meeting took place “amid escalating tensions across the Middle East region” and reported that Egypt had affirmed “full solidarity and complete support” for Saudi Arabia against any threat after Houthi drone and missile strikes on Saudi territory injured at least 13 civilians.
In a separate framing, Boursorama reported that the leaders “emphasized the importance of guarantees for the freedom and safety of maritime navigation” in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb, while also tying the calls to Riyadh’s pledge to respond with firmness to attacks by pro-Iranian Houthi forces in Yemen.
What’s at stake next
The sources tied the talks to the risk of disruption across the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb, with Connaissance des Énergies describing Bab el-Mandeb as controlling the southern access to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal on the maritime axis linking Asia to Europe.
“20 million barrels per day of crude and petroleum products used this strait on average in 2025”
Connaissance des Énergies reported that the International Energy Agency indicated that 20 million barrels per day of crude and petroleum products used the Strait of Hormuz on average in 2025, and it said the Houthis had captured the entire Yemeni coast on the Red Sea by early September including the Bab al-Mandeb Strait area.
Boursorama said a United Nations Security Council meeting in New York was scheduled at 3:00 p.m. to discuss the fate of the maritime corridor, while it also reported that Saudi civil defense issued three brief alerts of risk of attack in three southern regions near the Yemen border.
Boursorama further warned that the Saudi East-West pipeline was shut after drone attacks from Iraq and reported that the UN Refugee Agency said at least 100,000 people had been displaced in Yemen since fighting resumed in early September.