Cairo, Sept. 7 (Petra) -- Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Monday that Egypt is putting forward a comprehensive vision for developing joint Arab security arrangements to strengthen Arab states’ ability to protect their national security and collectively confront threats and crises, stressing that Arab national security is an interconnected system that cannot be divided.
Addressing the 166th ordinary session of the Arab League Council at ministerial level, Abdelatty said any threat to the security or sovereignty of an Arab state has repercussions for its surroundings, opens the door to external interference, and affects regional balances.
He stressed the need to move Arab national security from a political concept to an effective Arab capacity for initiative, prevention, deterrence, response, and protection.
Abdelatty said the Egyptian vision is based on developing a joint Arab security system and collective Arab security arrangements while strengthening political, security, and defense coordination mechanisms to enable Arab states to effectively address common threats and challenges and safeguard their security, stability, and sovereignty.
He said Arab states already have a legal foundation in the 1950 Treaty of Joint Defence and Economic Cooperation, as well as previous Arab summit resolutions aimed at strengthening joint capabilities, notably the 2015 Sharm El-Sheikh summit decision to establish a joint Arab force and the joint Saudi-Egyptian decision on the "Arab Common Vision for Security and Cooperation in the Region," issued in September 2025.
The minister said the current phase requires building on these frameworks and decisions and moving from affirming principles to establishing practical, implementable arrangements based on Arab consensus while preserving the sovereignty of states and the independence of their decision-making.
Egypt is ready to work with the Arab League, in coordination with member states, to prepare an integrated framework for joint Arab security arrangements, he said. The framework would identify areas of cooperation, consultation mechanisms, coordination and crisis-response structures, and implementation and follow-up mechanisms, with the ultimate aim of establishing a common Arab vision that rejects the imposition of any security arrangements on Arab states from outside the region.
On regional affairs, Abdelatty reaffirmed Egypt’s unequivocal condemnation of Iranian attacks targeting several Arab states, expressing Cairo’s full solidarity with the Gulf Cooperation Council states, Jordan and Iraq, and stressing its rejection of any infringement on the sovereignty, security, or territorial integrity of Arab states.
At the same time, he stressed the need to prevent the conflict from widening, saying diplomacy remains the most effective means of addressing the sources of tension and achieving de-escalation.
He highlighted the importance of building on the memorandum of understanding reached between the United States and Iran in June 2026, with a view to reaching a final and sustainable agreement that addresses the concerns of the various parties and contributes to strengthening regional security and stability.
Abdelatty said regional developments should not overshadow the humanitarian tragedy in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, or what he described as Israeli policies aimed at creating new realities on the ground and undermining prospects for a just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian issue.
The Palestinian issue remains at the heart of security and stability in the region, he said, adding that achieving a just and lasting peace requires ending the occupation and implementing a two-state solution through the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with international law and international legitimacy resolutions.
Egypt, he said, firmly rejects forced displacement, settlement activity, annexation, and attempts to eliminate the Palestinian cause, as well as efforts to alter the demographic and geographic character of the occupied Palestinian territories.
He warned of the repercussions of the settlement project in the E1 area on the territorial unity and geographic contiguity of the Palestinian territories, the isolation of East Jerusalem, and the foundations of a Palestinian state.
Abdelatty reaffirmed Egypt’s support for the Palestinian National Authority and rejection of any separation between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Egypt is continuing its efforts to consolidate the ceasefire, implement the understandings reached under the Sharm El-Sheikh agreement, and complete the implementation of the roadmap and U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan, as well as UN Security Council Resolution 2803 of 2025, he said.
The goal is to move to the second phase, including an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, full and sustained access for humanitarian aid, support for early recovery and reconstruction, and enabling the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, paving the way for the Palestinian National Authority to resume exercising its full responsibilities in both Gaza and the West Bank.
The minister stressed that reconstruction of the Gaza Strip must take place while the Palestinian people remain on their land and within a political process leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state, emphasizing that reconstruction cannot be a substitute for a political solution.
On Arab crises, Abdelatty said Egypt’s approach to developments in Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia is based on supporting the national state and its institutions, preserving sovereignty and territorial integrity, rejecting external interference and any attempts to divide states or establish parallel entities to their legitimate institutions, while adhering to national political solutions.
Sustainable stability, he said, requires a strong and capable national state able to exercise sovereignty throughout its territory, protect its institutions, and preserve the unity of its national fabric.
He also stressed the need to ensure freedom of international navigation and respect for international law, rejecting the use of maritime routes as a tool for pressure or escalation.
He underscored the importance of security, safety, and freedom of passage through international waterways and straits, particularly the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
Security in the Red Sea is a joint and exclusive responsibility of the states bordering it, Abdelatty said, adding that security arrangements should be based on cooperation and coordination while respecting the sovereignty and interests of the states of the region.
On water security, the minister stressed the need to comply with international law governing transboundary waterways and respect the rights of states, rejecting unilateral measures that could harm their interests or threaten their water security.
The Nile River, he said, is the lifeline and a key pillar of the security of Egypt and Sudan, calling for stronger Arab coordination and solidarity to protect the water security of the Nile basin states downstream and confront unilateral policies and measures in the Eastern Nile basin.
//Petra// AF
