Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and US President Donald Trump’s Africa adviser, Massad Boulos, have held a telephone conversation to discuss regional developments and the delimitation of maritime boundaries.
The two officials discussed, in particular, the “latest developments in Libya and ways to revive the political process to end the divisions” affecting the country, according to a statement from Egypt’s Foreign Ministry.
On this issue, Abdelatty stressed “the need to preserve the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the unity of its national institutions”
He also emphasised “the need to coordinate regional and international efforts” to enable the various Libyan parties to reach a comprehensive and lasting political settlement
The two officials also discussed the delimitation of maritime boundaries in accordance with the principles of international law, particularly the “United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea”, the same source said.
The call comes amid diplomatic tensions between Egypt and Libya following the ratification on October 20, by Libya’s House of Representatives of a maritime delimitation agreement signed in 2019 between Turkey and the Libyan government at the time, led by Fayez al-Sarraj.
The agreement, which Egypt has categorically rejected, defines the boundaries of the two countries’ continental shelves and exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean using precise geographical coordinates. The eastern Mediterranean, a major strategic area, has recently been the site of significant discoveries.
AK/Sf/lb/gik/APA