Egypt rejects Sudan’s reservations over its maritime border deal with Saudi Arabia
December 21, 2017 (KHARTOUM) — The Egyptian government Thursday rejected a letter sent by the Sudanese Foreign Ministry to the UN contesting an agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia designing the disputed d areas of Halayeb and Shalateen as Egyptian territory.
On 8 April 2016, Saudi Arabia and Egypt signed an agreement to delimit their maritime border. Also, according to this deal, Riyadh handed over two small islands on the Red Sea (Tiran and Sanafir) to Cairo.
In its letter to the United Nations, the Sudanese government declared its “full rejection” of the Egypt-Saudi agreement because it includes “the Sudanese Halayeb Triangle” as part of the Egyptian maritime border.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Egyptian foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid rejected Sudan’s letter to the United Nations on the Agreement on the demarcation of maritime boundaries between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Abu Zeid further rejected denied that Egypt was occupying Sudanese territories adding that his government “would send a letter to the UN secretariat to deplore Sudan’s letter.”.
He stressed they will reiterate that Halayeb and Shalateen areas are under Egypt’s sovereignty and inhabited by Egyptian citizens.
“The Government of Sudan declares it objection and rejection to what is known as the Agreement on the demarcation of maritime boundaries between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arab Republic of Egypt signed on April 8th, 2016” according to the declaration posted on the UN website.
The Sudanese government in its letter to the United Nations asserted that the agreement infringes on its sovereignty claims related to Halayeb triangle which was incorporated in the agreement as part of Egyptian territory.
“The maritime areas included in the agreements signed between the Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia and the Arab Republic of Egypt, which the Republic of Sudan rejected”.
“The Republic of Sudan, therefore, rejects and does not recognize andlegal or sovereign measures that are taken by virtue of the occupation of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the land and Maritimes zones of the Halayeb Triangle”.
The Saudi government has so far remained silent on the Sudanese move.
The Sudanese foreign minister Ibrahim Ghandour has recently disclosed that they were in talks with Riyadh regarding an apparent conflict between this agreement and one they signed in 1974 with Sudan on joint exploration of Red Sea resources.
He hinted that they could resort to international arbitration if bilateral talks are not successful.
(ST)