Palestine, Egypt begin talks to determine sea borders

The Palestinian ambassador to the UN says negotiations are underway with Egypt on setting out the maritime borders between the two sides as international efforts to recognize a Palestinian state gain momentum.

Riyad Mansour said on Friday that the Palestinian and Egyptian foreign ministers began preliminary talks recently on their undersea territory and now discussions are being arranged in Egypt between technical teams.

The sea border talks are part of “building the structures of a serious, respectable state in all fields,” Mansour said, adding that the goal is “to declare our exclusive economic zone and to survey our wealth.”

In November 2012, the UN General Assembly voted to upgrade Palestine’s status at the UN from “non-member observer entity” to “non-member observer state” despite strong opposition from Israel and the US.

That status empowered the Palestinians to achieve membership in UN bodies and treaties.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Mansour said that the state of Palestine has just been elected as a member of the credentials committee of the Law of the Sea Treaty, formally known as the Third United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The treaty codifies international law concerning territorial waters, sea lanes and ocean resources.

SS