Boost to fraternal, strategic relations

The visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to Egypt would enhance ties between the two traditional allies and contribute to regional security and economic growth, according to several Saudi and Egyptian political experts and academics.
Shoura Council member Sadaqa Fadil said the talks to be held between King Salman and Egyptian President Abdul Fattah El-Sisi comes at a time when unity is needed to tackle the region’s political volatility.
It was likely that the two leaders would come up with a plan to tackle the conflicts in Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Libya, and Iran’s expansionist policies in the region, he was quoted as saying by a local publication.
Zuhair Al-Harthi, a member of the Shoura’s foreign affairs committee, described the visit as “historic” and said it would further strengthen the joint resolve of the two nations to fight terrorism and ensure stability across the Arab world.
“There are plots being hatched in the region. An understanding between Riyadh and Cairo is capable of frustrating them, just as Operation Decisive Storm stopped Iran’s expansion,” he said.
Ali Al-Inizi, professor of information studies at King Saud University, said while relations remain solid between the two nations, this visit would help consolidate positions on various strategic political, economic and military issues. It would defy those who believe otherwise, he said.
Egyptian Ambassador to Riyadh Nasir Hamdi said the visit was timely and would see King Salman and El-Sisi focus on developments in the region, including signing several military and economic agreements.
Egyptian Commercial Attaché in Riyadh Ahmed Zaki said an indication of the good ties was the 6.3 percent growth in trade between the two nations in 2015 from the previous year. The Kingdom remained the biggest investor in Egypt at around $5.7 billion, or 27 percent of $20 billion in total Arab investments.
Adel Hanafi, vice president of the General Union of Egyptian Workers Abroad, said the visit comes at an excellent time and shows that the two countries still enjoy good and strong relations.
In Cairo, several economic experts, academics and political analysts said King Salman’s visit to Egypt would deepen fraternal and strategic relations between the two countries and breathe new life into the Egyptian economy.
Hossam Arafat, head of the division on petroleum products at the Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, said he was optimistic that the visit by King Salman would further cement relations between the two nations.
Rashad Abdou, an economic expert, said that the visit would undoubtedly see further support for the Egyptian economy, especially after King Salman ensured that Egypt would have petroleum derivatives for the next five years.
Omnia Hilmi, executive director of the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies, said the visit would boost Saudi investments in Egypt. She praised King Salman for allocating $1.5 billion for agriculture, health services, roads and urban communities in the Sinai.
Adel Amer, an expert at the Arab League’s Arab-European Institute of Political and Strategic Studies, said that the visit was a message to all those who were attempting to interfere in the Arab world.
He said the visit of El-Sisi to the Kingdom for the massive North Thunder military maneuvers showed the depth of the relations between the two nations. There has been widespread support for the visit across the region, he said.
Naji Al-Shehabi, chief of the Generation Party, said the visit has been welcomed widely, following that of El-Sisi’s trips to the Kingdom. It was a “strong response” to those who have doubted the strong relations between the two nations, he said.
Ahmed Ban, a specialist in Islamic movements, said: “This is a historic visit, the first visit of King Salman to Egypt and has been welcomed on all levels.” It was a continuation of the historic ties between the two sides. Meetings between the two nations’ leaders in the past have been “fruitful” and achieved “amazing results,” he said.
Noor Al-Haraki, a novelist and ambassador of the International Organization for Sustainable Development and member of the World Federation of United Nations Friends, said the visit sends a clear message to the world that Egypt and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong relations.
He said it was a blow to those plotting to create divisions between the two nations. Referring to the famous dictum of the Kingdom’s founder King Abdulaziz, he said: “Egypt is indispensable to us, and Saudi Arabia is indispensable to Egypt.”
Mustafa Al-Fiqi, a political strategist, said the talks between the two leaders would see a strategy formulated to tackle conflict in the region, especially with regard to Syria and the fight against terrorists groups such as Daesh.
Imad Jad, a strategic expert, said the two countries face the same challenges and have developed converging views to protect the region from “many perils” including the Houthis and Daesh in Syria and Libya.
Source: Arab News