CAIRO – 14 September 2025: Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty warned of unprecedented regional challenges confronting Egypt and the Arab world, stressing they are "existential" and directly impact national security.
In remarks made during an interview on Maspero Salon, Abdelatty stated: “These are extremely dangerous challenges, existential challenges that touch upon the very heart of Egyptian and Arab national security.”
He emphasized that the Egyptian state is currently facing simultaneous threats from nearly all strategic and geographical directions, a situation unparalleled in the country's modern history.
“Never in Egypt’s history have such crises and threats emerged from every geographical direction as we are witnessing today,” he said.
Abdelatty outlined a number of key regional flashpoints. For example, to the East (Levant), he said that the Syrian crisis continues to threaten the existence and stability of the Syrian state, while Lebanon faces deep internal challenges. “Egypt is working to support the preservation of the national state and ensure Lebanon’s stability,” he affirmed.
To the West, he continued that Egypt shares a 1,200-kilometer border with Libya, a country plagued by division, foreign interference, and armed militias. “The Libyan crisis, with all its complexities, poses a direct threat to Egypt,” he warned.
In the Sahel Region, Abdelatty cited escalating instability marked by terrorism, organized crime, and human trafficking as dangerous developments affecting Egypt’s western and southern borders.
As for the Sudan, which shares Egypt’s southern borders, Abdelatty said that the situation to the south is also critical, as the ongoing civil war threatens the very fate of the Sudanese state, exacerbated by foreign interventions and the spread of armed militias.
Turning to maritime issues, Abdelatty highlighted disputes over maritime border demarcation, particularly in light of vast hydrocarbon reserves in the region. “There are challenges in the north as well, in the Mediterranean, with overlapping interests and significant energy resources,” he said.
On the issue of water security, Abdelatty was unequivocal: “Egypt’s existential issue is water. We cannot, under any circumstances, compromise on it, not even a single drop.”
Despite the severity of these challenges, Abdelatty expressed confidence in Egypt’s leadership, saying “Egypt is being steered with wisdom, competence, and balance. There is neither excess nor negligence.”
He concluded by referencing President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s recent speech marking the birth of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), in which the President warned of ongoing conspiracies against Egypt. “But we must all rest assured,” Abdelatty said, “that Egypt will overcome these threats.”
Sun, Sep. 14, 2025
