Egypt’s Note Verbale to the UN: Explicitly rejects the limits of the Libyan Continental Shelf

According to the Hellenic News Agency (ANA-MPA), Egypt explicitly rejects the limits of the Libyan continental shelf as declared and shown on related maps, as they overlap with Egypt’s western maritime boundary. Furthermore, it “denounces the eastward-claimed maritime boundary, as it lies entirely within Egypt’s maritime zone, violating its sovereignty over its territorial waters (Territorial Sea) and adjacent zone, as well as its sovereign rights in its Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf.” Egypt declares its determination to defend its rights, which are grounded in international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The note verbale emphasizes that Libya’s positions “are incompatible with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and violate the provisions of international law and relevant international practice.” It recalls Egypt’s related announcements and legislative acts, particularly Presidential Decree 595/2022 on the delimitation of western maritime boundaries, as well as previous notes verbales (2019, 2023, and 2024).

Special attention is given to Libya’s protest against Greece’s international tender for exploration south of the Peloponnese and Crete. Egypt “rejects and refuses to recognize any claim over its EEZ and Continental Shelf, stressing that such claims do not take into account its inherent and inalienable sovereign rights” in the maritime areas extending from its baselines in the Mediterranean.

At the same time, Egypt rejects the memorandum of cooperation signed on 25 June 2025 between the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) and the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), which foresees geological and geophysical studies and seismic surveys in four maritime areas. As emphasized, the so-called “Area 4” overlaps with Egyptian boundaries, and therefore Egypt rejects both the memorandum itself and any measures, actions, or legal consequences arising from it. It also rejects any activity or operations within its maritime boundaries based on this memorandum. Similarly, it reiterates that it does not recognize the 2019 and 2022 Turkey-Libya memoranda, declaring them “invalid and without legal effect.”

In conclusion, Egypt declares its willingness and commitment to cooperate and negotiate in good faith with neighboring states on the delimitation of maritime zones based on international law.