Egypt’s Former Ambassador to Riyadh Suggests Sharing Tiran and Sanafir Islands between Egypt and Saudi Arabia

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Sayed Kasem the advisor of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Egypt’s former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, suggested the sharing of the Tiran and Sanafir islands between Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

In his statement to al-Shorouk newspaper, Kasem said that ” The solution resides in dividing the islands according to how close each island is to each country, which means that Saudi Arabia will have Sanafir island and Egypt will have Tiran island, or the sovereignty could be shared  between both countries to preserve the relations with Saudi Arabia.”
Egypt’s former ambassador to al Riyadh said , ” The latest verdict issued by the Administrative Court that nullified the maritime border demarcation agreement with Saudi Arabia is considered a reasonable resolution for the Egyptian government to reconsider the agreement.”
Saied Kasem, who was appointed as an ambassador to Saudi Arabia after the resumption of the relations between the two countries from 1987 to 1991, said that, ” In case of sharing  the sovereignty between the two countries, the area can be an economic partnership zone rather than an area of conflict one.”
“It is time to put apart the legal and historical contexts and to resort to the political solution through dividing the two islands or sharing their sovereignty between both countries,” he added.
In his statement, Sayed Kasem said that if both countries  didn’t reach a political solution regarding the islands, the conflict could be deeply rooted within the coming generation, especially that the Egyptians insist that the islands belong to Egypt.” He also added that Egypt’s parliament should represent the Egyptians will and should be in the forefront of institutions in complying with Egyptian people,  and reconsider the agreement.