Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Arab and African counterparts have signed the founding charter for the Council of Arab and African States Bordering the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The signing came during a meeting of Arab and African foreign ministers in Saudi Arabia's Riyadh.

King Salman of Saudi Arabia had previously suggested creating an entity bringing together the countries bordering the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The entity should work as a mechanism to safeguard the countries' interests and enable them to collectively face challenges in their shared waterways.

Along with Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Djibouti, Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen are participating in the meeting.

Earlier, Shoukry met with Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting.

The Egyptian and Saudi ministers discussed the cooperation between the two countries as well as the rapid developments in the region, including in Libya.

The ministerial meeting of the African and Arab States bordering the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden is being held today to tackle political, economic and security issues.

The ministers will also discuss ways of confronting foreign interference in the strategic waterway.

Shoukry met with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safdi upon his arrival in Riyadh yesterday, and discussed issues of mutual interest and methods of boosting bilateral relations between the two countries.