Credit: facebook/MFAEgypt

(CNN)-- Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called Sunday to continue exerting all efforts to expedite the release of the Egyptian sailors kidnapped off the Somali coast and ensure their safety, and to continue the engagement of the Somali authorities in this crisis.

This came during a meeting between Badr Abdelatty and his Somali counterpart Abdusalam Abdi Ali in Cairo, according to a statement published by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on its official Facebook page.

Ambassador Tamim Khallaf, spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, said that Abdelatty reiterated "Egypt's full support for the unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia, and the preservation of its national institutions," and stressed "Egypt's complete rejection of any unilateral measures that affect the unity of Somali territory or detract from its sovereignty," and Egypt's condemnation of the illegal and unacceptable step taken by the northwestern region of Somalia, known as "Somaliland," to open a purported embassy for it in the city of Jerusalem, in a flagrant violation of international law and relevant international legitimacy resolutions, according to the statement.

Badr Abdelatty also reiterated "Egypt's commitment to continuing support for building the institutions of the Somali state, and enhancing its capabilities in establishing security and stability, especially in the face of terrorism and extremism challenges."

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry had announced in a statement issued last May that it is following up on the incident of the hijacking of an oil tanker off the coast of Yemen, and its being taken to Somali territorial waters with 8 Egyptian sailors on board.

The ministry said in the statement that it "closely follows the incident of the hijacking of the oil tanker M/T Eureka from Yemeni territorial waters, and its being taken to Somali territorial waters near the Puntland region with 8 Egyptian sailors on board."