Egypt discusses the MFO’s role in Sinai

The Egyptian government’s Chief of Staff Mahmoud Hegazy met yesterday in Cairo with the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) Director-General Robert Stephen Beecroft, where they discussed the MFO’s work in the Sinai Peninsula, Anadolu Agency reported, quoting a statement by the Egyptian military.

The meeting was held at the Egyptian Ministry of Defence premises in Cairo, Army Spokesperson Col. Tamer El-Refai, said in the statement.

During the meeting the two officials discussed issues of mutual interest, including the coordination of military efforts between the armed forces and the MFO, according to the statement, which provided no details.

The Egyptian chief of staff praised the MFO’s high professionalism, which enables it to carry out its tasks efficiently.

On his part the MFO’s director-general praised the level of coordination and consultation with the Egyptian armed forces, which facilitates the MFO’s work in the Sinai, Beercroft was quoted in the statement as saying.

The MFO’s presence in Egypt’s Northern Sinai is stipulated in the peace treaty signed between Egypt and Israel in 1979. The force also constitutes an important point in negotiations related to the transfer of control over the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir from Egyptian to Saudi sovereignty, a recent development that occurred in the past months only following a 2016 Saudi-Egyptian maritime border demarcation agreement.

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According to the peace treaty, the MFO supervises Tiran and Sanafir, which are located at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba, which separates a number of Arab countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan and reaches Israel’s southern borders.

In the appendices to the agreement over Tiran and Sanafir’s handover, Egypt declared its commitment to the peace treaty and the MFO protocol. Saudi Arabia affirmed its commitment to Egypt’s obligations, adding that an agreement will be signed later regarding Egypt’s obligations in Tiran and Sanafir as per the peace treaty. Saudi Arabia provided no details of such agreement or when it will be signed.

The MFO comprises 1,500 officers and troops from 12 countries. It is located 10 kilometres away from Israel’s borders to the south of the North Sinai city of Sheikh Zoueid. The MFO is assigned to observe Egypt’s and Israel’s abidance by the peace treaty.

In April 2016 the United States Department of Defence revealed that high-level talks were being held between Washington, Cairo and Tel Aviv over the MFO. But it did not specify the objectives behind those talks.