Anglo-Egyptian Treaty is Formalized

The Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 26 August 1936 established Egypt as a sovereign state and required Britain to remove all troops except for those deemed necessary to protect the Suez Canal – the UK government determined that it would require around 10,000 soldiers and 400 Royal Air Force pilots to do so.

The move was partially inspired by the Second Italo-Abyssinian War that had started in the previous year – Egypt was worried that Italy would invade Egypt, in an attempt to connect her empire in Libya and the Horn of Africa. The treaty also gave Egypt slightly more influence in the Sudan by allowing Egyptian officials the opportunity to work there.

The treaty was ratified at Montreux, Switzerland, in May 1937. It was intended that the treaty should last for 20 years, but Wafd government eventually requested a full British withdrawal, and when this did not happen they unilaterally abrogated the treaty in 1951.