CAIRO: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Wednesday that Cairo would take all necessary measures to preserve Sudan’s unity, as the neighboring country approaches its fourth year of war between the army and its paramilitary rivals.
Speaking at a press conference with the UN secretary-general’s special envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, Abdelatty said Egypt “will not stand idly by and will not hesitate to take the necessary measures in a way that preserves Sudan, its unity and territorial integrity.”
Egypt shares its southern border with Sudan, and is one of the closest allies of the Sudanese army, which has been fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023.
Abdelatty said that Egypt “will not accept and will not allow under any circumstances the collapse of Sudan, the collapse of Sudanese national institutions or harming the unity of Sudan.”
“These are red lines,” he continued, adding that “a violation to Sudan’s national security is a violation of Egypt’s national security.”
The foreign minister’s comments echoed remarks made by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi during a meeting last month with Sudan’s army chief and de facto leader, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.
At the meeting, El-Sisi had also described any threat to Sudanese state institutions as a “red line for Egypt.”
A statement from his office added that Cairo reserved the “full right to take all necessary measures under international law,” including potentially activating a joint defense agreement.
Egypt and Sudan have a long-standing history of military cooperation. In March 2021, they signed an agreement covering training, border security and joint efforts against shared threats, building on a 1976 defense pact aimed at countering external dangers.
Egypt 'won’t hesitate' to help preserve Sudan's unity
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Egypt 'won’t hesitate' to help preserve Sudan's unity
- Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty says Cairo 'will not allow under any circumstances' collapse of its neighbor
- Egypt supports the Sudanese army, which has been fighting the paramilitary RSF since April 2023
Philippines eyes closer cooperation on advanced defense tech with UAE
- Philippine-UAE defense agreement is Manila’s first with a Gulf country
- Philippines says new deal will also help modernize the Philippine military
MANILA: The Philippines is seeking stronger cooperation with the UAE on advanced defense technologies under their new defense pact — its first such deal with a Gulf country — the Department of National Defense said on Friday.
The Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation was signed during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s visit to Abu Dhabi earlier this week, which also saw the Philippines and the UAE signing a comprehensive economic partnership agreement, marking Manila’s first free trade pact with a Middle Eastern nation.
The Philippines-UAE defense agreement “seeks to deepen cooperation on advanced defense technologies and strengthen the security relations” between the two countries, DND spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arsenio Andolong said in a statement.
The MoU “will serve as a platform for collaboration on unmanned aerial systems, electronic warfare, and naval systems, in line with the ongoing capability development and modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” he added.
It is also expected to further military relations through education and training, intelligence and security sharing, and cooperation in the fields of anti-terrorism, maritime security, and peacekeeping operations.
The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has described security and defense as “very promising fields” in Philippine-UAE ties, pointing to Abu Dhabi being the location of Manila’s first defense attache office in the Middle East.
The UAE is the latest in a growing list of countries with defense and security deals with the Philippines, which also signed a new defense pact with Japan this week.
“I would argue that this is more significant than it looks on first read, precisely because it’s the Philippines’ first formal defense cooperation agreement with a Gulf state. It signals diversification,” Rikard Jalkebro, associate professor at the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi, told Arab News.
“Manila is widening its security partnerships beyond its traditional circles at a time when strategic pressure is rising in the South China Sea, and the global security environment is (volatile) across regions.”
Though the MoU is not an alliance and does not create mutual defense obligations, it provides a “framework for the practical stuff that matters,” including access, training pathways, procurement discussions and structured channels” for security cooperation, he added.
“For the UAE, the timing also makes sense, seeing that Abu Dhabi is no longer only a defense buyer; it’s increasingly a producer and exporter, particularly in areas like UAS (unmanned aerial systems) and enabling technologies. That opens a new lane for Manila to explore capability-building, technology transfer, and industry-to-industry links,” Jalkebro said.
The defense deal also matters geopolitically, as events in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region have ripple effects on global stability and commerce.
“So, a Philippines–UAE defense framework can be read as a pragmatic hedge, strengthening resilience and options without formally taking sides,” Jalkebro said.
