Egypt can’t bar Qatari ships from passing though Suez waterway: Canal boss

‘The Suez Canal Authority says Egypt cannot bar Qatari ships from crossing the vital waterway, although the North African country, along with Saudi Arabia and its allies, has severed ties with Qatar.
Suez Canal Authority Chairman Mohab Mamish made the remarks in a statement on Friday, adding that the authority is abiding by the Egyptian government’s decision to cut relations with Qatar, but international treaties prevent Cairo from blocking the waterway to Qatari vessels.
However, he asserted that Qatari ships would be barred from using Egyptian ports and the canal’s economic zone.
The artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt — one of the world’s busiest water corridors through which about 10 percent of the world’s trade flows — connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez. The 193-kilometer waterway, which allows ships to avoid sailing around Africa, is one of Egypt’s top foreign currency earners.’
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