MP: Any decision regarding agreement

Egyptian parliamentarian expressed his astonishment over the increasing criticism against the parliament over the discussion of the agreement concluded between Egypt and Saudi Arabia to determine maritime boundaries. He stressed that any decision would be taken by the parliament, whether to ratify the agreement or nor, will be considered well.

He added, in an interview with “Arabs Today”, that the parliament did not take any hasty steps to pass the agreement, while the committees were keen to consider documents and to hold deep discussions with the country’s officials to take the final decision. He blamed those people who accused the parliamentarians of treason, saying that they attempt to pressure the parliament to take the decision they want.

He added that the people should deal with the parliament as the legislative authority that has the right to take any decisions in this regard, saying that the decision scheduled to be taken by the parliament will be based on data and opinions of experts in addition to formal documents.

Regarding the visit scheduled to be held by a parliamentary delegation to the U.S, he said that the step comes after a long boycott that continued for over 13 years, stressing that the visit aims to increase understanding between the Egyptian parliament on one hand and a number of American institutions.

He revealed that they were keen to hold a meeting with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry saying that they discussed a large number of issues related the program of their visit to the U.S and the recent developments witnessed in the Gulf States during the current period. He added that they also discussed the recent developments in Syria, Yemen and Iraq.

He added that they also raised a number of issues inside the parliament, including the reduction of the number of ministries to contain the increasing governmental spending. He said that they held a number of meetings with representatives of Egyptian ministries to discuss the ways to take such important step during the current critical period.