Egypt signs up to Saudi-backed Red Sea security council

Egypt signs up to Saudi-backed Red Sea security council: Egypt and seven other countries bordering the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden formed a regional security council during a meeting in Riyadh on Monday, according to Arab News. Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, along with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Sudan, Yemen, Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia signed the founding document of the alliance, which will promote closer security cooperation in the Red Sea. The organization was proposed by Saudi Arabia back in 2018 as a means of protecting its regional interests from rivals Iran, Turkey and Qatar.