King’s visit adds new dimension to ties

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Egypt have made history by achieving the highest point in their bilateral relationship following the visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to that country, said a cross section of legislators, political analysts and academics here on Saturday.

They described the Saudi-Egypt relationship as an excellent model for inter-Arab cooperation and the foreign policy vision of a prudent Arab nation like the Kingdom.
“The Cairo-Riyadh component has been a key barometer in understanding the changes in inter-Arab relations,” said Sadaka Yehia Fadil, a member of the Shoura Council, while referring to the five-day historic visit of King Salman to Egypt.
Referring to King Salman’s wide-ranging consultations with Egyptian officials, Fadil said that the two nations have emerged as strong partners in the regional alliance. “Saudi Arabia values the close relations it has built with Cairo,” said the Shoura member, adding that Riyadh and Cairo have had similar approaches on the whole range of bilateral, regional and international issues.
The identical policies of the Kingdom and Egypt, backed by political will, have started producing “a considerable regional and international impact,” he observed. Against this background, the visit of King Salman to Egypt is extremely important, he added.
“The royal visit shows the importance of the historic mutual relationship between the two countries … and this is highlighted by the different agreements signed by the two sides,” said Elham Mahjoob Ahmed Hassanain, another Shoura member.
Hassanain said that it is a close-knit relationship, which will expand exponentially by the construction of the new King Salman Bridge, making access easier in all ways. She hoped that the new developments on the bilateral front will lend a new dimension to the relations.
Referring to the need of joining hands together in the face of regional challenges, Salam Al-Onaizi, a political analyst, said that the top priority for the Kingdom and for Egypt is to achieve Arab unity, peace and security.
Al-Onaizi said that Egypt is not a Gulf country, but it is geo-strategically connected to the Gulf, and especially, to the Kingdom through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
“Egypt is also an immediate neighbor of Saudi Arabia, and the two countries have stood together in hours of crises,” he added. “Hence, the visit of King Salman to Egypt, which has raised bilateral relations to the highest level ever, will yield positive results at regional and international levels,” he noted.
On the commercial front, the two countries have forged closer ties. Abdurahman Al-Zamil, chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers, said that Saudi investors consider Egypt their second market after the Kingdom, and it is also an important export center for all the neighboring markets in the Arab, African and European countries.
Al-Zamil said that the Saudi-Egyptian summit talks held in Cairo focused on ways and means to boost trade and investments, besides security cooperation. According to reports, the Kingdom and Egypt signed 17 investment deals and memoranda of understanding during the visit of King Salman. The accords are worth billions of dollars.
The deals signed included an agreement to establish a university and homes in south Sinai, in addition to a power plant in that country.