Saudi king grants Sisi medal of honour

Saudi’s King Abdallah presented Egypt’s President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi with the highest medal of honour in the Kingdom during their meeting in Jeddah yesterday.

The visit by Al-Sisi is his first to the Kingdom since he assumed office on June 8. During the trip the leaders discussed bilateral relatios and issues of mutual concern, especially the developments in Gaza, Anadolu reported.

The two sides are expected to discuss the preparations for the donors’ conference for Egypt, promised by the Saudi king and endorsed by the United Arab Emirates.

A day before his trip to the Kingdom, Al-Sisi called for the formation of an “Arab Alliance” to counter the danger of the Islamic State in Iraq and Sham (ISIS) which has seized control of vast swaths of Iraq and Syria.

Following the military’s ouster of President Mohamed Morsi in July last year, Gulf countries were quick to lend support to the new regime, led by Al-Sisi. Gulf aid to Egypt since Morsi’s ouster amounted to $15.9 billion, including $6.9 billion from the UAE, $5 billion from Saudi, and $4 billion from Kuwait.

Following his visit to Saudi, Al-Sisi is scheduled to pay a brief visit to Russia tomorrow based on an invite from Russian President Vladimir Putin.