The Egyptian parliament has passed a controversial deal which approves the transfer of two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, Reuters said on Wednesday citing House of Representatives Speaker Ali Abdelaal.
Last year the government announced a maritime demarcation agreement with Saudi Arabia, which saw Egypt receive billions of dollars in aid in exchange for ceding control of the islands of Tiran and Sanafir to the Gulf kingdom.
Although the accord sparked protests in Egypt, the government insisted the islands always belonged to Saudi Arabia and were simply leased to Egypt in the 1950s.
(With input from Reuters)
7547km
Related story:
