RIYADH: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi received a royal welcome from King Salman as he landed in Saudi Arabia on Sunday for a visit to boost ties after months of tension. Salman, surrounded by key Saudi officials, greeted Sisi as he stepped off the plane in the capital Riyadh and hosted him for lunch, the official Saudi Press Agency said. The two Arab leaders then had talks during which they “reviewed the strong and brotherly relations as well as cooperation between their two countries” and regional issues, the agency said.
The Egyptian presidency announced the visit in a statement on Friday, saying Sisi’s trip was in response to an invitation by Salman and aimed at “bolstering strategic relations between the two countries”. It said Salman and Sisi would discuss “regional and international issues of common interest”. “The struggle against terrorism which threatens security and stability” in the region and beyond would top their agenda, it said. Sisi met Salman on the sidelines of an Arab League summit in Jordan last month to break the ice after months of apparent tensions between the two allies.
That encounter on March 29 came days after Egypt announced that Saudi energy giant Aramco had resumed delivering shipments of petroleum products after abruptly suspending them in October. Aramco had halted agreed monthly deliveries of 700,000 tonnes of petroleum products without explanation. But the halt came after Egypt voted in favour of a Russian-drafted UN Security Council resolution on Syria that Saudi Arabia strongly opposed. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
