Egypt is ready to provide Saudi Arabia with the support it needs to defend its security and stability, the presidency said yesterday, as Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis intensify their attacks on the world’s largest oil exporter.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi requested an urgent parliament session to authorise the military, one of the Arab world’s largest, to help defend Saudi Arabia if the kingdom requested its support.
A parliamentary vote had been expected on authorising the request for military support yesterday, but discussions were due to continue today, two MPs and local media reports said.
The Houthis have in recent days attacked Riyadh’s international airport and the state oil giant Saudi Aramco, amid renewed fighting with the forces of the internationally recognised government following the collapse of a truce.
“Egypt will provide Saudi Arabia with all necessary and possible forms of support to defend its security and stability, protect its resources, territorial integrity and Islamic holy sites,” the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.
It followed a meeting of Egypt’s National Defence Council chaired by Al Sisi and attended by the parliamentary speaker, the prime minister and the army chief.
Al Sisi said in a speech on Saturday that Egypt would act in accordance with guidance from Custodian of the Two Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who visited Al Sisi on September 15, after fighting in Yemen reignited.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia are close strategic and economic partners.
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