Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, two of the strongest allies of Egypt along with Saudi Arabia, hailed a landmark agreement signed by Cairo and Athens on Thursday.

The deal designates an area in the eastern Mediterranean that contains promising oil and gas reserves as an exclusive economic zone between Egypt and Greece.

As part of the agreement, both countries can make the most of the resources available in the exclusive economic zone.

Welcoming the agreement, Emirates’ Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Anwar Gargash called it a “victory for international law.”

In a tweet on Friday, Gargash said: “The signing of the maritime boundary demarcation agreement between Egypt and Greece is a victory for international law over the law of the jungle.”

“The international legal system is the firm foundation that manages relations between states and maintains security and peace. Civilized nations cannot legitimize political transformation at the expense of the foundations that govern international relations,” he added.

Following the agreement, Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement later in the day welcoming it.

In the statement carried by Bahrain News Agency late Thursday, the ministry described the deal as an important and successful move made by the two countries to enhance bilateral constructive cooperation, achieve joint benefits from the available resources in the EEZ of each of them, open up new horizons of economic cooperation and meet the aspirations of their peoples for further progress and prosperity.

It added that the deal is in line with the rules of International Law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), expressing appreciation for the tremendous efforts exerted by Egypt and Greece to bolster economic cooperation between them to serve the interests of their friendly people.

Egypt and Greece are at odds with Turkey, which last year angered the two countries by signing a maritime delimitation pact with the Tripoli-based Government of National Alliance.