Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Bahraini counterpart, Abdullatif Al-Zayani, crtiticised Qatar s interception of two Bahraini vessels last week in Bahraini waters. Shoukry and Al-Zayani agreed on Monday at a meeting in Cairo that "such acts contradict the conventions and treaties of the international law of the sea," a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry read. The Bahraini interior ministry said last week that Qatari patrols had intercepted, seized and threatened with weapons two Bahraini coastguard vessels while returning from maritime exercise "Al-Manaa Al-Bahary," before they then let them go. Al-Zayani has also voiced his support to all requirements of Egyptian national security and hailed the Egyptian role in backing stability in the region. The ministers discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern, the statement read, noting that the discussion reflected their similar opinions on these issues. Shoukry reiterated Egypt s support to Bahrain as well as the security and stability of the Arab gulf. He praised the level of bilateral relations with Bahrain and affirmed Egypt s keenness on enhancing them in various fields.

Egypt denounced on Sunday the two attacks that took place in Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah and northeast Nigeria in which dozens of civilians were killed and injured, urging concerted international efforts to counter all forms of terrorism and extremism. At least 110 people were killed in the Nigeria attack, the country’s UN humanitarian coordinator, Edward Kallon, said. Militants reportedly tied up agricultural workers in rice fields and slit their throats. A local anti-jihadist militia blamed the attack in Koshobe village near the main city of Maiduguri on Boko Haram, one of the largest Islamist military groups in Africa. Egypt’s foreign ministry affirmed Egypt’s support for Nigeria, reiterating Egypt’s “call for the need to counter terrorism, through firm and collaborative action on the regional and international levels.” Boko Haram is responsible for countless attacks in the past decade which rendered thousands of people dead and tens of thousands displaced. In Hodeidah’s Durihimi district, a mortar attack killed four women and four children and critically injured seven others. The district’s director Fuad Maki blamed the attack on Iran-backed Houthis. The Egyptian foreign ministry also blamed the “heinous crime” on the Houthis, extending condolences to the families of the victims and wishing a speedy recovery for the wounded civilians. “Egypt reiterates the need to reach a comprehensive settlement to the Yemeni crisis to protect the unity, sovereignty and stability of Yemen and alleviate the impact of the protracted humanitarian crisis that afflicts it,” the ministry said. The ministry stressed a settlement to the crisis in Yemen must be based on agreed international resolutions.

Egypt reiterated its rejection to link terrorist acts with Islam during a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held on Friday and Saturday. The two-day event was held in the Nigerien capital Niamey under the slogan "United against terrorism for peace and development." The OIC foreign ministers discussed a number of issues including combating terrorism, Islamophobia, the Palestinian cause and the Libyan crisis, in addition to conflicts in a number of Islamic countries. According to a statement released by Egypt s foreign ministry on Saturday night, the Egyptian delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister for African Affairs Hamdy Loza, affirmed Cairo s support to the Sahel countries in face of terrorism, as well as efforts exerted to achieve peace and security in Libya, Yemen, and Syria. The delegation also congratulated Sudan for signing the peace agreement with the armed groups in Juba.Last month, Sudan s government and rebel leaders signed a landmark peace deal in the capital Juba aimed at ending the decades-long war in which hundreds of thousands died. The signing ceremony was attended by Egypt s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.