The Suez Canal Authority affirmed its equal treatment for all countries and stressed that the canal is non-politicized, in its response to US President Donald Trump’s request for free passage for US ships through the canal, RT reported on Tuesday.
The Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, explained that “Egypt, as a country, respects charters and treaties, including the 1888 Treaty of Constantinople, which stipulates non-discrimination between the flags of ships and their countries.”
“The canal does not discriminate between the services provided to ships based on the nationality of their countries, and provides consistent services to all ships, regardless of their country and whether or not they have friendly relations with Egypt,” he added.
“The Authority has decided to reduce transit fees for large container ships, with a capacity exceeding 130,000 tons, by 15 percent for a period of three months, with the aim of accelerating their return to the waterway.”
“However, this came out of a security concern, not an economic one,” he noted.
He concluded by saying, “This period may be extended or the fee reductions increased, depending on circumstances, but there are currently no plans to offer additional reductions.”
Last April, in a phone call with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Trump announced that he was seeking to guarantee free passage for American ships through the Suez Canal.
This followed Trump’s call for free passage for American ships through the Panama and Suez canals.
