Cairo, Sept. 7 (Petra) — Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty
said on Monday that Egypt is putting forward a comprehensive vision
for developing joint Arab security arrangements to strengthen Arab
states’ ability to protect their national security and collectively
confront threats and crises, stressing that Arab national security is
an interconnected system that cannot be divided.

Addressing the 166th ordinary session of the Arab League Council at
ministerial level, Abdelatty said any threat to the security or
sovereignty of an Arab state has repercussions for its surroundings,
opens the door to external interference, and affects regional
balances.

He stressed the need to move Arab national security from a political
concept to an effective Arab capacity for initiative, prevention,
deterrence, response, and protection.

Abdelatty said the Egyptian vision is based on developing a joint
Arab security system and collective Arab security arrangements while
strengthening political, security, and defense coordination
mechanisms to enable Arab states to effectively address common
threats and challenges and safeguard their security, stability, and
sovereignty.

He said Arab states already have a legal foundation in the 1950
Treaty of Joint Defence and Economic Cooperation, as well as previous
Arab summit resolutions aimed at strengthening joint capabilities,
notably the 2015 Sharm El-Sheikh summit decision to establish a joint
Arab force and the joint Saudi-Egyptian decision on the “Arab Common
Vision for Security and Cooperation in the Region,” issued in
September 2025.

The minister said the current phase requires building on these
frameworks and decisions and moving from affirming principles to
establishing practical, implementable arrangements based on Arab
consensus while preserving the sovereignty of states and the
independence of their decision-making.

Egypt is ready to work with the Arab League, in coordination with
member states, to prepare an integrated framework for joint Arab
security arrangements, he said. The framework would identify areas of
cooperation, consultation mechanisms, coordination and
crisis-response structures, and implementation and follow-up
mechanisms, with the ultimate aim of establishing a common Arab
vision that rejects the imposition of any security arrangements on
Arab states from outside the region.

On regional affairs, Abdelatty reaffirmed Egypt’s unequivocal
condemnation of Iranian attacks targeting several Arab states,
expressing Cairo’s full solidarity with the Gulf Cooperation Council
states, Jordan and Iraq, and stressing its rejection of any
infringement on the sovereignty, security, or territorial integrity
of Arab states.

At the same time, he stressed the need to prevent the conflict from
widening, saying diplomacy remains the most effective means of
addressing the sources of tension and achieving de-escalation.

He highlighted the importance of building on the memorandum of
understanding reached between the United States and Iran in June
2026, with a view to reaching a final and sustainable agreement that
addresses the concerns of the various parties and contributes to
strengthening regional security and stability.

Abdelatty said regional developments should not overshadow the
humanitarian tragedy in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, or what he
described as Israeli policies aimed at creating new realities on the
ground and undermining prospects for a just and lasting settlement of
the Palestinian issue.

The Palestinian issue remains at the heart of security and stability
in the region, he said, adding that achieving a just and lasting
peace requires ending the occupation and implementing a two-state
solution through the establishment of an independent, sovereign
Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as
its capital, in accordance with international law and international
legitimacy resolutions.

Egypt, he said, firmly rejects forced displacement, settlement
activity, annexation, and attempts to eliminate the Palestinian
cause, as well as efforts to alter the demographic and geographic
character of the occupied Palestinian territories.

He warned of the repercussions of the settlement project in the E1
area on the territorial unity and geographic contiguity of the
Palestinian territories, the isolation of East Jerusalem, and the
foundations of a Palestinian state.

Abdelatty reaffirmed Egypt’s support for the Palestinian National
Authority and rejection of any separation between the Gaza Strip and
the West Bank.

Egypt is continuing its efforts to consolidate the ceasefire,
implement the understandings reached under the Sharm El-Sheikh
agreement, and complete the implementation of the roadmap and U.S.
President Donald Trump’s peace plan, as well as UN Security Council
Resolution 2803 of 2025, he said.

The goal is to move to the second phase, including an Israeli
withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, full and sustained access for
humanitarian aid, support for early recovery and reconstruction, and
enabling the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza,
paving the way for the Palestinian National Authority to resume
exercising its full responsibilities in both Gaza and the West Bank.

The minister stressed that reconstruction of the Gaza Strip must take
place while the Palestinian people remain on their land and within a
political process leading to the establishment of a Palestinian
state, emphasizing that reconstruction cannot be a substitute for a
political solution.

On Arab crises, Abdelatty said Egypt’s approach to developments in
Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia is based on
supporting the national state and its institutions, preserving
sovereignty and territorial integrity, rejecting external
interference and any attempts to divide states or establish parallel
entities to their legitimate institutions, while adhering to national
political solutions.

Sustainable stability, he said, requires a strong and capable
national state able to exercise sovereignty throughout its territory,
protect its institutions, and preserve the unity of its national
fabric.

He also stressed the need to ensure freedom of international
navigation and respect for international law, rejecting the use of
maritime routes as a tool for pressure or escalation.

He underscored the importance of security, safety, and freedom of
passage through international waterways and straits, particularly the
Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

Security in the Red Sea is a joint and exclusive responsibility of
the states bordering it, Abdelatty said, adding that security
arrangements should be based on cooperation and coordination while
respecting the sovereignty and interests of the states of the region.

On water security, the minister stressed the need to comply with
international law governing transboundary waterways and respect the
rights of states, rejecting unilateral measures that could harm their
interests or threaten their water security.

The Nile River, he said, is the lifeline and a key pillar of the
security of Egypt and Sudan, calling for stronger Arab coordination
and solidarity to protect the water security of the Nile basin states
downstream and confront unilateral policies and measures in the
Eastern Nile basin.

//Petra// AF