Egypt is set to keep administrative control over two Red Sea islands that Cairo plans to transfer to the Saudi Arabia.

A government report advising parliament on the terms of the agreement said on Sunday that Cairo would maintain administrative control but not sovereignty over the uninhabited islands.

Last year, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s government announced a maritime demarcation accord with Saudi Arabia giving up control of the Tiran and Sanafir islands to the Gulf kingdom.

Parliament on Sunday began discussions about the accord ahead of a vote, whose timing has not yet been announced, despite of a higher court decision stating that both islands are Egyptian.

“The agreement only ends Egyptian sovereignty and does not end the necessity of Egypt protecting this area for reasons of Egyptian and Saudi Arabian national security,” the report said.

The report also added that Egyptians would not need visas to visit the islands of Tiran and Sanafir, located about 4 kilometers apart in the Red Sea.

Moreover, a number of members from parliament and an alliance of 25 January-30 June register their refusal to discuss the the deal of establishing borders between Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Discussions are still commencing tomorrow.