Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said Egypt will not accept any threat to Saudi Arabia’s security or borders, or to Red Sea security, warning that deep geopolitical shifts in the region will have consequences.
He described Egypt and Saudi Arabia as the heart of the Arab and Islamic worlds and said harm to either would affect the other.
Al-Sisi made the remarks to senior officials and journalists at a breakfast after the Police Academy’s 2026 graduation ceremony in New Cairo. He also warned of risks on Egypt’s southern and western borders, and said the stability of Sudan, Libya and Gaza is essential to Egyptian and Arab national security.
The Egyptian president also said he had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in every meeting and communication since 2014 that establishing a Palestinian state would benefit all parties and lead to lasting peace in the Middle East.
Turning to domestic affairs, Al-Sisi warned of continuing attempts to discredit the country’s armed forces and police. He described the police and the armed forces as the “two wings” of Egypt’s security, saying both are essential to the country’s stability at home and abroad and that Egyptian national security rests on the defence and interior ministries.
He cautioned that pressure on Egypt will grow in the coming years as development gathers pace and as opponents realise the state is still standing after plans to bring it down in 2011 failed.
Al-Sisi said safeguarding the state is the responsibility of all Egyptians and reiterated the need to protect the national memory from attempts to distort it through lies and fabrications, describing Egyptians as the first line of defence against them.
Al-Sisi stated that institutional stability is required to achieve long-term development plans, acknowledging that no country can realise such goals in just a few years. Citing what he described as stagnation in the state and its institutions since 1967, he called for improvements in the quality of education and the creation of qualified personnel free from favouritism.
He noted that the volume of work completed in Egypt since 2014 would otherwise have taken at least 30 years, pledging to continue working until his last day in office.
The Police Academy graduation ceremony for the class of 2026 in New Cairo was attended by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Interior Minister Mahmoud Tawfik, and Assistant Interior Minister and Police Academy President Nidal Youssef. It featured military, physical fitness and combat displays. During the ceremony, Al-Sisi awarded medals of excellence to top graduates before concluding with a martyrs’ salute, honouring those who died for the country.