Almotamar.net - The meeting for senior officials in the Arab countries situated on the Red Sea held Thursday in Cairo co-chaired by Yemen and Egypt emphasised the importance of supporting Yemen's proposal concerning the building of a regional sea centre in Yemen for the exchange of information and communications about acts and incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships.

Representatives of the countries on the Red Sea agreed on the necessity of security coordination for countering the increasing danger of piracy in the area of Aden Gulf while officials expressed their belief there are international dimensions behind the growing of the acts of piracy lately.

Representatives for seven Arab countries; Egypt, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Sudan, Jordan and Djibouti and the transitional government in Somalia , net in Cairo for consultation. The meeting was also attended by representatives for the Arab League.

At the conclusion of the meeting a Declaration of Principles was issued. It contained the importance of joint coordination for combating operations of piracy in the Aden Gulf region at the southern entrance of the Gulf, especially offshore Somali coasts and they recently transferred to an area close to Yemeni coasts.

Declaration of Principles stressed that the Arab countries overlooking the Red Sea are basically meant by growth of navigation movement in the region sand they have to cooperate for the establishment of mechanisms for confronting acts of piracy, among them a system for the exchange of information and expertise to stop aggravation of the phenomenon.

Middle East News Agency quoted the official at the Egyptian foreign ministry ambassador Wafaa Nasim her saying the meeting called for by Egypt aimed at discussing with the Arab countries sharing the Red Sea with Egypt and looking for common means, arrangements and measures with which can keep the Red Sea clear from piracy.

Chairperson of the Egyptian delegation to the meeting said among the ideas studied by the meeting was the building of an information centre for dealing with the phenomenon and securing security of navigation in the region in addition to programs of joint training of coat guard and others for deployment of warning systems for ships in case of discovering of any activity of piracy groups.

On his part the assistant general secretary of the Arab League for political affairs ambassador Ahmed Bin Hilli stressed the significance of security and military coordination among the countries overlooking the Red Sea and cooperation with international forces as a mechanism to put an end to the problem of piracy offshore the Somali coasts in the Red Sea.

Bin Hilli added the growth of piracy wave calls for questioning and wonder, pointing out there were initiatives taken from outside the region made without consultation with the concerned countries in the region.

Wafaa Nasim, an Egyptian diplomat, said ahead of the talks that the meeting would examine several options to tackle piracy, which threatens the Suez Canal trade and as such Egypt's key source of revenue.
Egypt is concerned that the recent surge in piracy, highlighted by the hijacking of the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star loaded with $100m worth of crude oil last week, will prompt shipping companies to opt for safer routes that avoid the Canal.