Saudi crown prince kicks off regional tour in Egypt
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has arrived in Egypt at the beginning of a regional tour which will also include Jordan and Turkey.
The de facto leader of Saudi Arabia was welcomed at Cairo airport by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Monday evening.
The two are scheduled to hold talks in the presidential palace in Cairo on Tuesday, where they will discuss “regional and wider international political affairs,” according to a Sisi spokesperson.
Riyadh has long been a steady financial backer of the Egyptian government, with the Saudi Public Investment Fund expected to announce further investment in Egypt as the country seeks to recover from the effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The next stop for Mohammed bin Salman will be talks with King Abdullah II in Jordan, another long-time ally of Saudi Arabia.
He will then visit Turkey, for the first time since the killing of the Middle East Eye and Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. His remains have never been found.
The visit, following one by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Saudi Arabia in April, is expected to heal ties between the two countries.
Erdogan's efforts to improve relations with Saudi Arabia, as well as the United Arab Emirates, come as Ankara faces a significant economic crisis, as inflation levels hit 73.5 per cent, and with a presidential election set for next year.
The Saudi crown prince is also due to visit Greece, Cyprus and Algeria, "probably in late July," according to a diplomat quoted by AFP. However, Riyadh has yet to confirm the upcoming trips.
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