Egypt-Saudi relationship hits alliance level

Relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia have reached a level that they become allies in everything, Saudi Ambassador here Ahmad al Qattan said.

In a TV interview aired on private satellite channel "Al Nahar", Qattan said Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz's Cairo visit, which concluded Monday, was the fruit of strenuous efforts by the Saudi-Egyptian Coordinating Council.

The Saudi envoy said nearly half the Saudi cabinet ministers were members of the king's delegation in addition to a large number of princes and senior leaders, noting that no visits were made before with this number of Saudi figures.

During his five-day visit of Cairo, the Saudi king met with Saudi investors and businesspersons and asked them to invest in Egypt, Qattan said.

The consecutive Saudi leaders since the reign of King Saud to the era of King Salman have acknowledged Egypt's value and had followed the will of late founder of the kingdom Abdulaziz to "take good care of Egypt", he said.

The furor caused by the border demarcation agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia that covered Tiran and Sanafir islands, has, according to him, spoiled the joy of the king's visit, stressing that Egypt is not for sale.

"No Egyptian will allow their soil or nation to be sold, how come a man like President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, who took it upon himself to save the country on June 30, would do this. Neither his patriotism nor the Egyptian army can be doubted."

"If there were the slightest tinge of doubt that the ownership of the two islands belongs to Egypt, President Sisi would never have agreed to sign the agreement," he said.

Late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat had addressed the United Nations during the peace negotiations with a document specifying that the two islands were Saudis, he added.

The agreement will be submitted to the Egyptian House of Representatives to give its final say on the issue after the deal is thoroughly studied by Egyptian experts, he said.

Source ; MENA