On the 9th of April, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt agreed to hand over ownership of the two disputed Red Sea islands Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. The agreement still has to be presented to parliament for ratification, however, legal experts in Egypt already questioned the legitimacy of the agreement, saying that giving away authority over Egyptian territory is unconstitutional. The statement came while Saudi Arabia's King Salman was in Cairo for a five-day visit. Sisi’s opponent from the 2014 presidential elections, Hamdeen Sabahi, denounced the deal, saying it went against the Egyptian constitution, which prohibits ceding any territory. According to the Cairo-based Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights, many people were arrested in central Cairo when staging a protest against the deal.

The ownership of the uninhabited islands in the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba, has long been disputed. The islands once-formed the border between the Ottoman Empire and British-controlled Egypt and are considered strategically important. The two nations had agreed to set up a $16bn investment fund, while on Friday the leaders unveiled plans for a Red Sea bridge to connect them.

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