Egypt’s Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs, Ambassador Amr Mahmoud Abbas, said in a statement on Saturday that the ministry “is closely following” the position of 17 Egyptian fishermen who had been arrested by the Tunisian authorities.

 

The fishermen were arrested by the Rapid Intervention Team of the Tunisian Coast Guard for illegal fishing southeast of Tunisia’s Kerkennah island and their boat was directed to the main naval base in Sfax city where the necessary legal measures are to be taken, said Abbas.

 

Egypt’s assistant foreign minister affirmed that the Egyptian embassy in Tunis will continue to make the necessary contacts with the concerned Tunisian authorities to ensure the safety of the fishermen and to follow-up on the incident’s progress of investigations, the foreign ministry statement noted.