Cairo, Oct 22 (IANS): Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called for ensuring the safety of maritime navigation in the Red Sea as it has a direct connection to Egypt's national security.

Abdelatty made the remarks during his meeting on Monday in Cairo with the UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement.

During the meeting, Abdelatty stressed the need to adopt a comprehensive approach to de-escalation in the region, starting with an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, while urging international actors to exercise pressure to reach a final and implementable settlement to the crisis in Yemen, reports Xinhua news agency.

Abdelatty expressed Egypt's support for all efforts aimed at reaching a comprehensive political solution to the Yemeni crisis in a way that meets the aspirations of the Yemeni people and ends their humanitarian suffering.

Shortly after the outbreak of the Gaza conflict in October last year, Yemen's Houthi group has repeatedly attacked ships in the Red Sea that it asserts have links to Israel, allegedly to support Palestinians in their conflict with Israelis.

The Red Sea tension has pushed shippers to seek alternative navigational routes away from the Suez Canal, which is a crucial source of national revenue for Egypt.