SAUDI CROWN PRINCE ARRIVES FOR CAIRO VISIT
▶ Palestine and Qatar expected to feature in talks over three days
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman landed in Cairo yesterday in his first visit abroad since being appointed heir to the throne.
Egyptian officials were hoping to co-ordinate their positions on the Yemen and Syria conflicts, the boycott of Qatar and concerns over Jerusalem.
Prince Mohammed, 32, was welcomed at the airport by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, who has launched ambitious economic development projects with the help of Saudi financial assistance and is seeking endorsement of his policies in presidential elections in May.
The crown prince’s threeday trip to Egypt, described by Mr El Sisi’s spokesman as his “second homeland”, includes a visit to the National Youth Academy in suburban Sixth of October City, reflecting his shared interest with Mr El Sisi in wide-reaching civil service reforms.
The newly inaugurated academy is under direct presidential supervision and aims to train young people for public service.
Sources in the presidential palace said the prince will underscore his commitment to Egyptian youth by pledging to build a new university in the Sinai.
Prince Mohammed is also scheduled to meet Pope Tawadros II, head of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church, at St Mark’s cathedral in Cairo, and attend a performance at the Cairo Opera House today.
But observers expect talks between Egyptian officials and Prince Mohammed, whose dynamism has shaken up traditional diplomatic, security and political arrangements, to focus on the oldest and newest and divergences: the 70-year Israeli-Palestinian stalemate and nine-month standoff with Qatar.
“Bin Salman is handling all the important international files for Saudi Arabia at a moment of tremendous confusion in the region,” said Gehad Auda, professor of international relations at Helwan University.
There is increasing anxiety in Riyadh and Cairo over President Donald Trump’s promised Middle East peace plan.
“When it comes to the ‘deal of the century’, both Egypt and Saudi Arabia are running into difficulties with the Palestinians, the Jordanians, the Israelis and the Americans,” Prof Auda said. “And the two leaders know they must make a serious assessment of the situation to advance a co-ordinated Arab position.”
Egyptian officials hope Prince Mohammed will be able to present a common stance on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, and the boycott of Qatar over its support for terrorism when he visits Britain on Wednesday and the US this month.
On Thursday, Egyptian Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla announced that Saudi Aramco had promised the free supply of 500,000 barrels of crude a month for six months.
The transfer of tens of millions of dollars worth of fuel in addition to billions in grants and soft loans from Saudi Arabia has helped Egypt to improve its international credit rating.
Saudi aid has been crucial for Mr El Sisi, who has launched large-scale projects including a relocation of the government to a new capital between Cairo and the Suez Canal, and construction of the New Alamein city on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast.
Prince Mohammed’s vision of Neom, a new business and industrial city powered by clean energy that will be built adjacent to Jordan and Egypt, has captured the imagination of young entrepreneurs and investors.
“The prince is a risk-taker,” said Mohamed Salah, 26, the Egyptian co-founder of Amman digital content company Social n’Tech.
“The cultural reforms around opening movie theatres and allowing concerts, and big initiatives like Neom may seem crazy to some, but it shows a disruptive kind of leadership and vision.”