CAIRO: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met on Tuesday in Riyadh with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman.
Bassam Rady, spokesman for the Egyptian presidency, said a one-on-one meeting was followed by talks that included delegations from both countries.
King Salman praised bilateral relations, Egypt’s pivotal role in maintaining security and stability in the Arab world, and its unremitting efforts to support Arab Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia.
He also expressed his appreciation for Egyptians’ contributions to the Kingdom’s development, and stressed its keenness to strengthen bilateral relations at all levels in a manner that achieves the common interests of both countries and peoples.
King Salman hosts Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Riyadh on Tuesday. (SPA)
Rady said El-Sisi expressed his appreciation to King Salman for the warm welcome, and stressed that the Egyptian and Saudi peoples share a common history and a single destiny.
The president also expressed Egypt’s aspiration to strengthen cooperation with Saudi Arabia in all fields, and stressed the importance of continuing to work to unify Arab ranks in the face of regional challenges.
He said Cairo will not allow the security and stability of the Arab Gulf countries to be compromised because their security is integral to Egypt’s.
Rady said the talks discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations at all levels, as well as regional and international issues of common interest.
The two sides agreed on the need to strengthen joint efforts to combat terrorism, and for concerted efforts by the international community to reach political settlements to regional crises in a manner that preserves countries’ territorial integrity.
Osama Nugali, Saudi ambassador to Egypt, said El-Sisi’s visit comes within the framework of the continuous consultations and growth of relations between the two brotherly countries.
Nugali added that the large number of agreements, memoranda of understanding and protocols between the two countries gives their relationship a strategic dimension, in addition to the historical, religious and Arab dimensions.
He noted that Saudi Arabia is the second-largest foreign investor in Egypt, and the latter came second among countries for which investment licenses were issued in the Kingdom in 2020.
El-Sisi was accompanied by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry; Maj. Gen. Ahmed Mohamed Ali, the president’s chief of staff; intelligence chief Abbas Kamel; Maj. Gen. Mohsen Abdel-Nabi, director of the president’s office; and Maj. Gen. Mustafa Shawkat, head of the Republican Guard.
