Interim Minister of Defence General Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi met with Admiral Mohab Mamish, the president of the Suez Canal Authority, on Monday to discuss the rate of ship activity in the Suez Canal and procedures for securing the channel. A statement from the military spokesman said that the discussed the Suez Canal's readiness to host a project for the development of the Suez Canal region, which will " accomplish the requirements of national security, the interests of Egypt and its great people." The Suez Canal Region Development Project was first proposed during the term of ousted President Mohamed Morsi. The project included plans for developing the cities of Suez, Ismailia and Port Said. The meeting is the second held for the purpose of discussing the development of the Suez Canal after Mamish, Second Army Commander Major General Ahmed Wasfi and Commander of the Third Army General Osama Askar held a meeting on Monday to examine the escalation of terrorist operations. During the meeting, the officials discussed securing areas in Sinai and the Canal Zone after the bombing of the Military Intelligence building on Saturday and an administrative building in the Canal Authority Facility in Ismailia, which Jihadist group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis claimed responsibility for. They also discussed the application of a control system to combat the use of car bombs as a method of attack, ways to tighten inspection of unknown vehicles, and the passing of procedures to move parking spots away from vital institutions, such as Suez Canal buildings.
