Court rejects appeal AN ADMINISTRATIVE court on Tuesday rejected the government's appeal against a June 2016 court ruling that voided an earlier agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia which put two Red Sea islands under Saudi sovereignty. The government's appeal considered the status of Tiran and Sanafir, islands off the coast of South Sinai, an issue of sovereignty which the judiciary has no jurisdiction over since it falls under the president's powers. Its lawyers presented documents provided by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry and other official bodies proving Saudi Arabia's ownership of the islands and requested a virtual stay of execution. Two months later, in September, a court of urgent matters issued a ruling suspending the Administrative Court's June decision, offering the first judicial backing of its kind to the government's decision. But lawyers and legal experts argued that the court of urgent matters had no jurisdiction over the case because only the highest Administrative Court can overturn the implementation of an administrative court's verdict. This was validated by Tuesday's ruling which rejected the government's appeal and argued in its reasoning that the court of urgent matters indeed had no jurisdiction here. The 9 April Egyptian-Saudi maritime border agreement was announced during a five-day visit by the Saudi monarch, King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz, to Cairo. A statement by the Egyptian cabinet declared that the islands of Tiran and Sanafir — which lie in the narrow sea passage between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, separating the Gulf of Aqaba from the Red Sea — fall squarely within Saudi maritime waters. A case against the agreement was filed by lawyer Khaled Ali on 10 April amid a public uproar on social media that was followed by anti-government demonstrations. Because the agreement was announced during King Salman's visit, during which he pledged generous aid packages — including providing Egypt with petroleum supplies over the next five years to the tune of $23 billion which Egypt will be able to pay for over 15 years — critics accused the authorities of giving up the strategic islands in return for Saudi financial assistance. Ali and his team have since provided courts with an abundance of documents and historical maps dating back to the 19th century proving Egypt's ownership of the strategic islands, including official acknowledgment by the ministries of tourism which, until the Egyptian-Saudi agreement was announced, considered them part of Egyptian territory. The June ruling which nullified the maritime agreement, declared “Egyptian sovereignty over the islands holds, and it is forbidden to change their status in any form or through any procedure for the benefit of any other state.” It dealt an unexpected blow to the government as the agreement deal was waiting to be referred to parliament for discussion and ratification. Prior to the Administrative Court's ruling, this would-be process had faced no obstructions. Both the Saudi Shura Council and cabinet approved the deal in May. By rejecting the government's appeal, Tuesday's ruling further complicates the finalisation of the agreement as the authorities had planned. Nor can it go to parliament now for ratification. The case's dramatic developments coincided with recent tension between Cairo and Riyadh and the latter's decision to suspend the promised monthly petroleum shipments to Egypt on Monday “until further notice”. Shoukri in Ethiopia Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri is in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to participate in a joint meeting of the high-level African Committee on Libya. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said Egypt is to outline its vision on dealing with the situation in Libya and to emphasise the centrality of the Skhirat agreement, in addition to supporting Arab, African and international efforts aimed at achieving stability and rebuilding Libya's institutions. The meeting was held at the summit level at the headquarters of the African Union under the patronage of the president of Chad, the current chairperson of the AU. Shoukri participated on behalf of President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi. The African High-Level Committee on Libya (South Africa, Gabon, Ethiopia, Niger and Mauritania), and the neighbouring countries of Libya (Egypt, Sudan, Chad, Algeria, Niger and Tunisia), in addition to Libya, Uganda and Congo attended the meeting. Abu Zeid said AU efforts to deal with the Libyan crisis began in the wake of the revolution of February 2011, whereby the AU formed a high-level presidential committee on Libya to communicate with the parties concerned until Security Council Resolution 1973 was issued, entailing a ceasefire between the Libyan parties and an end to attacks against civilians. He said the AU resumed efforts to deal with the situation in Libya after a decision by its summit in January 2016 to form a new presidential high-level committee on Libya, including the countries mentioned, as well as the appointment of former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete as a new AU envoy to Libya. Abu Zeid said the high-level committee held a meeting on 21 September this year in New York on the sidelines of the 71st UN General Assembly session with the participation of Libya's neighbouring states. The Addis Ababa meeting is supposed to be a follow-up on the New York gathering. Possible Aleppo breakthrough FOREIGN Minister Sameh Shoukri discussed with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov the latest developments in Syria and efforts exerted to reach a ceasefire and guarantee that humanitarian aid reaches civilians in Aleppo. In a phone call on Monday, the two top officials also discussed the Egyptian, Spanish and New Zealand draft resolution that tackles ways to facilitate the UN job to send aid to Aleppo, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid. Shoukri emphasised the incumbency of dealing with the humanitarian crisis with the “utmost seriousness” and to resolve any differences that recently erupted between member states regarding Syria. Shoukri and Lavrov also discussed bilateral relations, the situation in Libya and efforts exerted to implement the Sukhrat agreement, according to Abu Zeid. European Parliament visit MEMBERS of a European Parliament delegation for relations with Mashreq countries visited Egypt, Nesmahar Sayed reports. The delegation's visit was part of the 11th inter-parliamentary meeting between the European Parliament and the Egyptian Parliament. According to Marisa Matias, head of the delegation, the visit's objectives were observing the state democratic transition in Egypt, identifying Egypt's needs in terms of cooperation with the European Union and Egypt's role in increasing stability and solving crises in Libya, Syria, Yemen and Palestine. The delegation met President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri and a number of ministers. The six-member delegation also met Ahmed Al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church. In a press conference, Matias said the delegation was not responsible for the foreign affairs of EU countries. She said the EU was concerned with Egypt's war on terrorism and human rights. Javier Nart, a member of the delegation tasked with relations with Mashreq countries, South Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), spoke about the “critical situation and chaos that has spread in Libya. We should not build castles in the air as realities on the ground are very critical”. They stressed that a “strong civil society is the backbone of a pluralistic and democratic system. Domestic and international NGOs should be seen as partners in governance”. According to the delegation, the Egyptian authorities had informed them that an NGO draft law is being prepared to be discussed in parliament. Matias said the delegation was “alarmed” by the recent court ruling in Egypt freezing the assets and funds of human rights defenders and independent human rights organisations, and called upon the government of Egypt to “comply with its constitutional and international obligations in relation to freedom of association and expression”. She said the delegation supported the efforts made by the Egyptian authorities in tackling “the enormous socio-economic challenges the country is facing” and endorsed EU commitment on the issue. The delegation for relations with Mashreq countries was set up in the wake of the first direct elections to the European Union in 1979. Between 1994 and 2004, the delegation was also responsible for relations with Arab Gulf states. Since the 2004 elections, the delegation's remit has been limited to the four countries in the Mashreq region — Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
