Crown Prince: ‘I can not come to North Africa without visiting Tunisia’
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Tunisia on Tuesday, where he was welcomed by President Beji Caid Essebsi at the presidential palace in Carthage, outside Tunis.
Saudi Arabia and Tunisia have long had good relations, the crown prince told Tunisian state television.
“I can not come to North Africa without visiting Tunisia ... Tunisian president (Beji Caid Essebsi) is like my father,” the crown prince said.
In response to the crown prince’s arrival, the latest stop on his official tour of the region, Tunisian government minister Selma Elloumi highlighted the “historical and fraternal” relations between the countries.
Ties between Saudi Arabia and Tunisia have gone from strength to strength in recent years. The countries have held joint military exercises and Saudi Arabia has, through the Saudi Fund for Development, launched many projects in Tunisia.
Before flying to Tunis, Crown Prince Mohammed held talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El- Sisi in Cairo. They were said to center on a number of regional issues of great importance to both countries.
Suleiman Wahdan, the undersecretary of the Egyptian House of Representatives, said El-Sisi and the crown prince are leading their countries toward stability and strength, as a result improving the stability and strength of the region.
“Cairo and Riyadh are the bastions of Islam and Muslims in leading the Islamic world against the Iranian and western plans to divide the region,” he said. “The strengthening of the strategic partnership between Cairo and Riyadh is in the interest of the stability of the entire Arab region.”
Wahdan added that the crown prince showed great insight in taking a stand against Iranian attempts to divide Yemen and destabilize Bahrain.