Egypt’s Sisi to meet Yemeni president Wednesday

Egypt’s President Abd El-Fattah El-Sisi will meet his Yemeni counterpart Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi in Cairo on Wednesday, a presidential statement said.

The statement did not elaborate on further details. Hadi is expected to attend the inauguration of the Suez Canal’s new shipping lane.

Egypt, which backs President Hadi, is part of the Saudi-led Arab coalition currently fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen.

On Monday, El-Sisi issued a presidential decree to extend the deployment of Egyptian units, mainly naval forces, in Yemen for at least another six months or until the end of operations.

The decree published in the Official Gazette stated that Egypt’s forces “will continue their operations to protect Egypt and the Arab world’s security in the Arabian Gulf area, the Red Sea, and the Bab El-Mandab strait.”

Hadi escaped Yemen after Houthi rebels took control of the capital Aden in March. The president currently resides in Riyadh.

This is Hadi’s second visit to Egypt since the start of the anti-Houthi military operations in March.

According to Wednesday’s presidential statement, El-Sisi will also receive envoys from India, Japan and Singapore later today.
source: Ahram Online