Egypt Says It Is Ready to Give Saudi Arabia Necessary Support as Sisi Asks Parliament to Authorise Military Help
Egypt's presidency said in a statement on October 18 that Egypt is ready to provide Saudi Arabia with all the support it needs to defend its security and stability. The statement moved the process to a parliamentary authorisation stage, a day after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in a speech at a military academy that Egypt would help defend Saudi Arabia if the kingdom requested it.
According to Reuters, Sisi had requested an urgent parliament session to authorise the military, one of the region's largest and most powerful, to help defend Saudi Arabia if the kingdom requested its support. "Egypt will provide Saudi Arabia with all necessary and possible forms of support to defend its security and stability, protect its resources, territorial integrity and Islamic holy sites," the presidency said in the statement.
The statement followed a meeting of Egypt's National Defence Council chaired by Sisi and attended by the parliamentary speaker, the prime minister and the army chief. Parliament was due to hold the urgent session at 1 p.m. local time (1000 GMT) on October 18 to vote on authorising the request.
The move came as Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis intensified their attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent days, targeting Riyadh's international airport and state oil giant Saudi Aramco, amid renewed fighting with the Saudi-backed forces of the internationally recognised government following the collapse of a truce.
Sisi said in his October 17 speech that Egypt would act in accordance with guidance from Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who visited Egypt on September 15. Egypt and Saudi Arabia are close strategic and economic partners, and Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states provided Egypt with billions of dollars in aid, central-bank deposits and investments after 2013. Egypt previously joined the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015, but played a limited combat role.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：埃及总统 Abdel Fattah al-Sisi 与美国总统特朗普在 Sharm El Sheikh 会晤（2025年资料照片）。白宫官方照片，Daniel Torok 摄，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons / Photo: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi meets U.S. President Donald Trump in Sharm El Sheikh (file photo, 2025). Official White House photo by Daniel Torok, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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