FILE - Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty meets with his Djiboutian counterpart, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, in Djibouti, July 2024 - Egypt's MFA
CAIRO – 12 January 2025: The foreign ministers of Egypt and Djibouti emphasized the necessity of strengthening cooperation among countries bordering the Red Sea to protect their interests and national security, and to confront various threats.
In a phone call on Saturday, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Djiboutian counterpart, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, discussed tensions in the Red Sea and their impact on navigation and international trade.
Since the onset of the Israeli war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis of Yemen have launched numerous attacks on numerous international ships in the Red Sea, significantly disrupting navigation.
The Houthis assert that these attacks constitute acts of solidarity with the Palestinian people and will continue until Israel ceases its aggression in Gaza.
These tensions have severely affected Egypt’s Suez Canal revenues over the past year, with earnings for 2024 showing a sharp decline of over 60% compared to 2023.
This decline translates to an estimated loss of nearly $7 billion for Egypt, according to the Egyptian Presidency, as the country recovers from an earlier foreign currency crisis.
A US-led military coalition has been active in the Red Sea since late 2023 to counter these attacks, while frequently striking targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
However, the Houthi attacks have continued, prompting many ships to reroute from the Suez Canal to the significantly longer Cape of Good Hope route.
Despite the serious repercussions for the Suez Canal, a major source of foreign currency for Egypt, the country has not joined the coalition to date.
Last week, an official Egyptian source dismissed Israeli reports regarding alleged preparations for Egyptian military intervention in Yemen, calling such claims "baseless."
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