Saudi Arabia reiterated its support for Egypt following wide-ranging talks between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi on Sunday.
King Salman and El-Sissi discussed prospects of cooperation between the two countries besides a range of regional and international issues of common concern.
“A broad range of subjects came under discussion,” said Affifi Ahmed Abdelwahab, Egyptian ambassador. King Salman hosted a lunch banquet for El-Sissi and his accompanying delegation. Affifi said that there was no “defined agenda” of the talks. “El-Sissi discussed the deteriorating situation in Yemen and the latest developments in the Middle East.”
The visit and the subsequent Saudi-Egyptian summit talks came ahead of the high-profile International Economic Summit to be hosted by Egypt on March 13 to garner financial support for Egypt and to encourage businesses to invest in the Egyptian economy, said the envoy. The Kingdom is a partner and sponsor of the conference, he noted.
During his four-hour stay, El-Sissi touched on several other subjects with Saudi officials, including the formation of a force to counter terror threats from Syria, Yemen and Libya. El-Sissi’s visit is part of a flurry of diplomacy in the capital, which witnessed talks between King Salman and leaders of GCC states as well as Jordan recently.
“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet the king on Monday,” said Turkish Ambassador Yunus Demirer.
Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif and South Korean President Park Geun-hye will also be flying to Riyadh this week.
The king and the Egyptian president also discussed the Middle East crisis in general and emphasized “the depth of strategic relation between the Kingdom and Egypt,” said SPA. Several royal family members and a number of high-ranking Saudi and Egyptian officials attended the talks.
Prominent among them were Crown Prince Muqrin, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, Defense Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar, National Guard Minister Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah and Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf.
El-Sissi entourage included Sameh Shoukri, foreign minister; Khalid Fawzi, chief of General Intelligence; and Alaa Yusuf, spokesman of the presidency.

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