CAIRO, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Yemeni Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Shaya Mohsen al-Zindani discussed on Wednesday efforts to release the Egyptian sailors aboard a vessel hijacked off the Somali coast.
During a phone call, Abdelatty and al-Zindani pledged to "exert all efforts to speed up the release of the kidnapped sailors and ensure their safety," the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The two sides also addressed strengthening bilateral ties and following up on the outcomes of the ninth round of the Egyptian-Yemeni Strategic Dialogue, which they co-chaired in Cairo in May.
The transport vessel MT Eureka was seized by armed Somali groups in early May while sailing off the Yemeni coast and was later taken to Somali territorial waters near Puntland, with 12 sailors being held on board, including eight Egyptians and four Indians, according to media reports. ■
