Egypt rejects non-Arab forces having a foothold in Yemen, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said in a joint press conference with Yemeni counterpart Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi in Cairo Monday (August 13th), Egypt's Ahram Online reported.
"Yemen's security and stability is a top priority not only for Egypt's national security, but the security and stability of the entire region," al-Sisi said.
"We therefore reject Yemen becoming a stronghold for non-Arab forces, a threat to the security and stability of brotherly Arab states, or [the endangering] of freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Strait of Bab al-Mandab," he said.
Al-Sisi stressed Egypt's commitment to supporting the stability and territorial integrity of Yemen and the preservation of its current leadership.
Egyptian presidency spokesman Bassam Rady said that the two leaders discussed co-operation between Egypt and Yemen to enhance the protection of maritime navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait "to avoid being negatively affected by the current situation in Yemen".
The Yemeni president also discussed with al-Sisi the threats posed by the Iran-backed Houthis (Ansarallah) to security on the Red Sea.
"We aspire to see an end to this war and the suffering of the Yemeni people at the hands of the Houthi [militias]," Hadi said.
