UAE foreign minister arrives in Jeddah during Sisi's visit

The Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Abdullah Ben Zayed Al-Nahyan, arrived in Jeddah yesterday evening during a two-day visit by Egyptian President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi to the Kingdom.

Saudi’s foreign minister received Al-Nahyan at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, where they held a bilateral meeting and discussed issues of mutual concern, the Saudi News Agency (SNA) reported.

It was not known whether Al-Nahyan was scheduled to meet with Al-Sisi in the Kingdom.

Earlier yesterday evening, the Saudi king received Al-Sisi at his palace in Jeddah, where they held bilateral talks in a “closed meeting”, the SNA reported.

According to the SNA, the two sides discussed the latest developments in the Middle East and the Islamic world, especially the situation in Gaza and occupied Palestinian territories, and efforts to stop the Israeli aggression.

They also discussed “ways to boost bilateral ties between the two countries in all fields.”

Al-Sisi’s visit comes as his first official visit to the Kingdom, and his fourth foreign trip following his inauguration as president. During a tour of Africa he visited Algeria, Equatorial Guinea and the Sudan.

This is Al-Sisi’s second meeting with the Saudi king, after their meeting on board a Saudi plane in Cairo on June 20.

The Anadolu news agency reported that Al-Sisi was scheduled to meet with the Saudi king to discuss “final preparations for the donors’ conference for Egypt”, which will be sponsored by Saudi Arabia.

Al-Sisi is scheduled to perform Umrah during his trip, SNA said.

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.

The Saudi king has called for a donors’ conference for Egypt following the election of Al-Sisi as president in June. The UAE has since announced its support for the initiative.

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.