CAIRO – Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman landed in theEgyptian capital on Sunday at the start of his first foreign tour as heirto the throne.
A beaming Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi greeted the prince atCairo airport after he descended the red-carpeted steps of his plane.
The head of Prince Mohammed’s office, Bader al-Asaker, tweeted that theprince’s plane was escorted by Egyptian fighter jets when it enteredEgypt’s airspace.
Prince Mohammed will hold meetings with Sisi, a key regional ally, andother officials in Egypt before flying off to Britain on Wednesday and thenlater this month the United States.
Saudi Arabia views Egypt as a cornerstone of regional stability, after theformer army chief Sisi overthrew his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi in2013.
Riyadh viewed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood with suspicion and at one pointbriefly recalled its ambassador from Cairo during his turbulent year inpower.
It has since showered Cairo with aid to prop up the country’s economy, in arelationship that has led to some controversy in Egypt.
In 2015, during a visit by King Salman to Cairo, the two countries agreedon the transfer of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, sparking protestsin Egypt.
Sisi ratified the deal last year, and Egypt’s top court annulled lowercourt rulings for and against the treaty on the eve of the crown prince’sarrival.
Prince Mohammed’s visit comes ahead of Egypt’s presidential polls in lateMarch, with Sisi expected to win a second four-year term.
The visit “will be interpreted as proof of Saudi support for Sisi to remainas the president of Egypt”, Mostafa Kamel al-Sayed, a political scienceprofessor at Cairo University, told AFP.
Cairo and Riyadh have maintained close ties, although Egypt has signalled alack of enthusiasm for Saudi regional policy, both on the Yemen war and apotential escalation with Iran.
But it is among a bloc of Arab nations that joined a Saudi-led boycottsince June of Qatar.
The crown prince’s tour also aims to court investors and comes after atumultuous period that has seen a military shake-up and a royal purge inSaudi Arabia, part of his sweeping power play.
Prince Mohammed is already seen as the country’s de facto ruler controllingthe major levers of government. – APP /AFP