Egypt’s National Defense Council held on Sunday a security meeting with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to extend the military’s participation in a Saudi-led operation in Yemen, the Presidency said in a statement. It did not specify how long the extension would be for.

“The National Defense Council agreed during the meeting to extend the participation of the required elements from the Egyptian armed forces in a combat operation outside the nation’s border to defend Egyptian and Arab national security in the Gulf, Red Sea, and Bab al-Mandab areas,” the statement said.

As we remember, early Egypt’s National Defense Council extended the military’s participation in the Saudi-led operation in Yemen for up to one year, the statement added.

“The national defense council agreed to extend the participation of the required elements from the Egyptian armed forces in a combat operation outside the nation’s border to defend Egyptian and Arab national security,” the statement said.

“This is for an extra year or until the end of the combat operation, whichever comes first.”

Prime Minister Sherif Ismail and the Ministers of Defense, Interior, Foreign Affairs, and Finance attended the meeting, alongside the Armed Forces’ Chief-of-Staff and the Head of Al-Mukhabarat Al-‘Ammah (Egyptian General Intelligence).

The meeting discussed counter-terrorism efforts in Sinai, the statement added, as well as increased security measures undertaken to protect the country’s borders.