CAIRO: Egypt’s parliament authorised on Monday sending military support to Saudi Arabia to defend the kingdom from attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, following a request from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
The House of Representatives “approved authorising President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to take the necessary measures to support the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”, state newspaper Al-Ahram reported.
The parliament, stacked with supporters of Sisi, had held three rare secret meetings on the matter and postponed the vote twice.
Sisi last week had asked parliament to authorise military support to Saudi Arabia, “if requested”.
It was not immediately clear what defensive support could be provided by Egypt, the Arab world’s largest military, which boasts hundreds of thousands of active personnel, fighter jets and complex air defences sourced from countries including the US, China, France and Russia.
Sisi said on Wednesday that his country’s support would be to “defend Saudi territory, and does not include an attack on Yemen”.
“We are talking about defending the land and borders of the kingdom,” he said in a speech, adding that the top priority was for a diplomatic solution.
Egypt has undertaken a flurry of diplomatic manoeuvres since, with Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty consulting with the so-called R4, which includes members of the Meccah defence pact, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey, which Cairo has not agreed to join.
On Monday, he said he was “talking daily with the Iranians” to push for regional de-escalation.