Cairo (South24) 

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A new session of the strategic dialogue between Yemen and Egypt launched today in Cairo, headed by the foreign ministers of the two countries, as security unrest continues due to Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

The Yemeni news agency, Saba, reported that the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the internationally recognized government, Shayea Al-Zindani, would meet his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, at the head of a high-level delegation to discuss bilateral cooperation and regional issues.

The session is scheduled to continue through Tuesday and Wednesday and involves ambassadors of the two countries as well as diplomatic and government officials.

Since 1998, Egypt has periodically held bilateral strategic dialogue sessions with Yemen and a number of countries, led by the United States.

The current session coincides with escalating Houthi naval attacks on ships, now joined by an Iraqi Shiite militia supported by Iran, whose operations have expanded to target vessels in the Israeli port of Haifa and the Mediterranean Sea.

Yesterday, the US Central Command said the Houthis had caused moderate damage to the M/V Trans World Navigator tanker on its way from Malaysia to Egypt, in a suspected drone attack.

The Houthis officially claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place on Sunday, but indicated that it was conducted using an unmanned boat.

The Houthis’ military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, said in a statement yesterday that they had also targeted the Stolt Sequoia chemical and oil tanker in the Indian Ocean with winged missiles.