By the Gazette Editorial Board President Abdel Fattah El Sisi recently said very firmly that the security and stability of Yemen were of the utmost importance ‘not only to the national security of Egypt but also to that of the whole region'. The President's strong emphasis on this came during a joint press conference he had with Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who paid a two-day visit to Cairo earlier this week. It was the third time for Hadi to visit Egypt since he came to power in March 2015. On that occasion, he visited Sharm El-Sheikh to take part in an Arab Summit and attend the Suez Canal inauguration in August 2015. President Sisi said that Egypt would not tolerate by any means any attempt to reduce Yemen to a centre of influence for non-Arab forces [Iran-linked Houthis]. "[Egypt] categorically rejects Yemen as a centre of influence or a threat to the security and stability of the brotherly Arab states," President Sisi said. He emphasised that Egypt was always genuinely committed to supporting the stability of Yemen and its territorial integrity. "Egypt always highlights its commitments to supporting the legitimate Yemeni government to overcome the current challenges and attempts to violate the future of the brotherly Yemeni people," El Sisi said. On this occasion, President Sisi underlined Egypt's readiness to increase the volume of training and support provided to build the potentials of Yemeni cadres in various fields. Egypt would increase the number of scholarships and training programmes, as well as therapeutic grants to receive and treat injured Yemenis. President Sisi's statement during the press conference was a clear-cut message that Arab national security was an essential and inseparable part of Egypt's national security. His re-emphasis in this regard came when he warned that Egypt would not allow any foreign powers to threaten or destabilise the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Strait of Bab al-Mandab, which was one of the world's most important tanker routes. Saudi Arabia last month had to suspend oil shipments through the Red Sea's Bab al- Mandeb strait after Iran-aligned Houthis attacked two ships in the waterway. Egypt's commitment to Yemen and different Arab countries far and wide in the Middle East stems from the fundamentals of its foreign policy and decades of struggle and co- operation.
