Sudan will ask UN to look into Saudi-Egypt border demarcation plans

Sudan today announced its plans to officially notify the UN that it rejects an agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia which handed Riyadh two Red Sea islands.

According to the border-demarcation agreement, the Tiran and Sanafir islands were handed over to Saudi Arabia and Egypt relinquished them, prompting widespread political debate in both countries.

“The Government of Sudan declares its objection and rejection of what is known as the Convention on the Delimitation of Maritime Borders between Saudi Arabia and the Arab Republic of Egypt which was signed on April 8 2016,” the text of the objection from the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The letter added that Khartoum “confirms its full rejection of the Convention’s designation of the Egyptian maritime boundaries, including the coordinates of the maritime points that are an integral part of the maritime border, the Sudanese Halayeb Triangle.”

“In accordance with the provisions of international law, in particular the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969, the Republic of the Sudan affirms that it will not recognize any legal effect which results from the agreement of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Egypt concerning the delimitation of maritime borders on the Red Sea, which affects the Republic of Sudan’s sovereignty and historical rights on the Halayeb triangle land and sea borders.”

Read: 1,572 Egyptians arrested over Red Sea island transfer