Saudi FM: ‘Saudi Arabia and Egypt are two wings of the Arab region’

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi arrived in Saudi Arabia yesterday where he received a royal welcome from King Salman. The meeting aimed at “bolstering strategic relations between the two countries”.

Relations between Riyadh and Cairo have been frosty in recent months after Egypt voted in favour of a Russian-drafted UN Security Council resolution on Syria opposed by Saudi Arabia. Russia supports Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad whilst Saudi supports the opposition fighting against him.

Read: Egyptian parliamentarian rebukes Saudi defence official

Adding to tensions last year, an Egyptian court blocked an agreement that would have seen Egypt hand Riyadh the two Red Sea islands Tiran and Sanafir.

In a sign relations were thawing, Saudi energy company Aramco resumed delivering monthly petroleum products to Egypt, which had been stopped in October.

The leaders discussed terrorism, security and stability in the region. They also talked about Syria, Yemen and Libya and the importance of finding solutions to the fighting in these countries.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said that relations between the countries are strong:

The Saudi-Egyptian relations are deep, strong, historical and strategic, and will be always stronger in the future. I look forward to more constructive meetings with [Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh] Shukry.