Egypt advocates exploring “every opportunity” to resolve the Yemen conflict diplomatically, its foreign minister said on Thursday, ahead of a parliamentary vote next week on authorising the armed forces to support Saudi Arabia against the Iran-aligned Houthis, Reuters reported.
Source: Reuters, 22 Oct 2026
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and intelligence chief Hassan Rashad travelled to Riyadh on Wednesday to deliver a letter to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who said Egypt's support would be limited to defending Saudi territory and borders rather than attacking Yemen, Reuters reported. The Saudi state news agency SPA separately reported that the crown prince met Abdelatty in Riyadh on Wednesday, received a written message from Sisi for King Salman, and discussed the latest regional developments — the official Saudi account of the same visit.
Source: Saudi Press Agency (SPA), via Reuters, 21 Oct 2026
Abdelatty said on Thursday that Egypt underlined the need to “explore every opportunity for the possibility of reaching political solutions” ensuring a full Houthi withdrawal from territory seized during the group's advance in September near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — a critical chokepoint at the Red Sea's mouth and the gateway to Egypt's Suez Canal, Reuters reported. “So that we can move on the political path that we always emphasize, and also side by side in support of the defensive path for the kingdom,” Abdelatty told a press conference.
What kind of support Egypt will ultimately provide remains unclear, Reuters noted. Any direct involvement of the Egyptian military, one of the region's largest, would raise the stakes in the conflict between the kingdom and the Houthis, an increasingly destabilising front in the wider regional war. Egypt has had only a limited role in the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen in the past.
Sisi called on Saturday for an urgent parliamentary session to authorise military involvement supporting the kingdom. After a closed session on Sunday, lawmakers postponed the vote until October 26 to allow more deliberation, Reuters reported — the vote Awaaz Punjab covered earlier this week, linked below.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait carries Red Sea shipping to Egypt's Suez Canal, a pillar of Egypt's economy and of world trade. Cairo is signalling it will back Riyadh defensively while publicly keeping the diplomatic door open — and parliament's October 26 vote will decide how far that support goes.
What is solid
- Egypt's foreign minister said on Thursday that Cairo wants every opportunity for a political solution in Yemen explored (Reuters, reporting his press conference).
- Abdelatty delivered a letter from Sisi in Riyadh on Wednesday; SPA reported the crown prince received a written message from Sisi for King Salman and discussed regional developments with him.
- Egypt's parliament is due to vote on October 26 on authorising military support for Saudi Arabia (Reuters).
What is only claimed
- What form any Egyptian support would take is not settled: Sisi's letter, as reported by Reuters, limits it to defending Saudi territory and borders rather than attacking Yemen, and Reuters says what support Egypt will ultimately provide remains unclear. No Houthi response to Abdelatty's withdrawal call was reported in these sources.
Awaaz Punjab earlier covered parliament's decision to delay the authorisation vote to October 26, and the financial ties underneath it. Read the earlier story: Egypt's parliament delays vote on military support for Saudi Arabia