Egypt's president has ratified a disputed 2016 agreement under which his country would transfer control of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. <br/><br/>News of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's ratification of the maritime border demarcation agreement came in a Cabinet statement issued today. <br/><br/>The ratification followed the approval of the agreement by parliament, despite court rulings to annul the transfer. <br/><br/>The government says the two islands have always been Saudi but were placed under Egypt's protection in the 1950's amid Arab-Israeli tension. <br/><br/>Critics say the islands were transferred in exchange for billions of dollars of Saudi aid.