Egypt rejected a Houthi request for direct talks on Red Sea shipping, fearing official contact could grant the group implicit recognition.

Egypt has rejected a Houthi proposal for direct talks with Egyptian maritime authorities over navigation through the Bab al-Mandab and Red Sea, amid concerns that engaging officially with the group could amount to implicit recognition of its authority.

The proposal was conveyed by Yemen’s Houthi movement through the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) in London and sought direct communication with Egyptian officials to coordinate with the Suez Canal Authority and maritime ports, sources told The New Arab.

The request concerned establishing arrangements governing maritime safety and navigation around Bab al-Mandab following Houthi advances along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and their control of strategically important islands and coastal areas overlooking the strait.

A senior Egyptian source told The New Arab that Suez Canal Authority chairman Osama Rabie had categorically rejected official communication with the Houthis.

Rabie would not give “a party that is not internationally recognised an opportunity to obtain implicit recognition merely by responding to its message, even by telephone”, the source said.

Egypt recognises Yemen’s internationally recognised government and has sought to avoid steps that could formally legitimise Houthi rule over territory under the group’s control.

However, Cairo has not ruled out indirect contact with the Houthis as it attempts to protect shipping through the Red Sea and Suez Canal.

The Egyptian authorities instead referred the proposal received by the ICS to security agencies, allowing communications to be handled outside official state institutions, according to the source.

The aim is to secure an end to attacks on vessels passing through Bab al-Mandab, restore freedom of navigation and protect crews regardless of nationality, while preventing the Houthis or another actor from establishing recognised authority over the international waterway.

Egyptian sovereign security agencies have already maintained channels with both sides of Yemen’s conflict without granting the Houthis official recognition, the source said.

Cairo is particularly concerned that instability around Bab al-Mandab could further damage traffic through the Suez Canal, whose revenues have been severely affected by the Red Sea shipping crisis.

The Houthis had previously approached the London-based shipping body after taking control of Yemeni coastal cities, seeking an international conference on regulating navigation through Bab al-Mandab during their exchange of missile attacks with Israel in 2025, according to a Suez Canal Authority source.

That proposal was rejected because participating states did not recognise the Houthis and because internationally unrecognised political entities cannot participate in setting international maritime rules.

Egyptian officials fear that accepting the Houthis as a party capable of negotiating rules for passage through Bab al-Mandab could establish a new reality in which an internationally unrecognised armed group exercises de facto authority over one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints.

Mohamed Shireen al-Naggar, a transport expert and board member of the Alexandria Chamber of Shipping, told The New Arab that Houthi control around the entrance to Bab al-Mandab would not necessarily result in the strait being closed, but could leave shipping exposed to heightened risks even after active warfare ends.

“Shipping companies will not wait for another attack on vessels,” he said, explaining that the presence of an armed force on islands and in coastal cities surrounding the strait would itself raise security risks.

This could push shipping companies towards the much longer route around the Cape of Good Hope, increasing fuel consumption as well as shipping and insurance costs.

Despite Houthi assurances that vessels would be allowed through Bab al-Mandab and the Red Sea, with the exception of Saudi-linked ships, al-Naggar said current conditions posed a serious threat to maritime traffic.

Continued fighting would make companies reluctant to send cargo through the area, particularly highly flammable shipments of oil, gas and petroleum products, he said.

Oil and gas tankers travelling from the Gulf towards Europe and the Mediterranean could consequently face risks at two crucial chokepoints – the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab.

Disruption at both would have significant consequences for Red Sea and Suez Canal traffic, while higher fuel, insurance and freight costs would ultimately feed into global transport, industrial and consumer prices.

Al-Naggar said Cairo’s contacts through its security agencies with the Houthis and Iran, alongside official communication with Saudi Arabia and the US, were intended to prevent Houthi battlefield control around Bab al-Mandab from becoming a permanent threat to Red Sea navigation.

The risks could become particularly acute during the European winter, when demand for Gulf oil and gas rises.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi reiterated Cairo’s position during the latest BRICS meetings in New Delhi, saying that “Egypt rejects any attempts to militarise the Red Sea”.

Sisi said developments in the Middle East and their impact on global trade, energy and supply chains demonstrated the “close interconnection between security and development”, stressing the importance of maintaining the stability and freedom of international navigation.