Egypt’s House of Representatives will form a committee to review Egypt’s recent agreement to cede control of the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia, privately-owned Al-Masry Al-Youm reported. Member of Parliament Soliman Wahdan said that the House has yet to receive the official documents relating to the agreement but will “immediately” form a committee to review all documents and decide whether or not to ratify the agreement. Wahdan also said that whether or not a public referendum will be held remains in the parliament’s hands. “The case of ceding control of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia is important to the entire Egyptian population, and this importance is carried from the population to its representatives, the parliament,” Wahdan said. He added that, if the parliament finds that the islands are indeed Saudi Arabian, the MPs “will ratify the agreement immediately.” Meanwhile, parliamentarian Mahmoud El Sherif told Aswat Masriya that the parliament’s verdict on the agreement will not be affected by the flow of several billion dollars of Saudi Arabian aid to Egypt. Last week, Egypt declared the two islands as Saudi Arabian, saying that negotiations had…
Egypt Parliament to Form Committee to Review Red Sea Islands Agreement
April 17, 2016
