Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Friday announced plans to build a bridge over the Red Sea to Egypt, in a lavish show of support for the government of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.
The 80-year-old king is on a rare five-day trip to Egypt, a country that Riyadh views as a cornerstone to its ambitions in the changing region.
Saudi Arabia has been the key backer of al-Sisi since 2013, when the then-army chief overthrew his Islamic predecessor Mohamed Morsi, whose Muslim Brotherhood movement was viewed with suspicion by Riyadh.
Photo: AFP
Salman, who touched down in Cairo on Thursday to a lavish welcome, made the announcement after meeting al-Sisi at the Presidential Al-Ittihidiya Palace.
“I agreed with my brother his excellency President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to build a bridge connecting the two countries,” Salman said.
“This historic step to connect the two continents, Africa and Asia, is a qualitative transformation that will increase trade between the two continents to unprecedented levels,” he added.
A beaming al-Sisi, who minutes earlier had presented the king with the ceremonial Nile Collar, suggested naming the structure the “King Salman bin Abdel Aziz Bridge.”
The idea of a causeway between the two countries had been floated before, especially by former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, but never made it past the planning stage.
Thousands of Saudi tourists visit Egypt annually and thousands of Egyptians visit Saudi Arabia each year for Muslim pilgrimage.
Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians work in the oil-rich kingdom and send home much-needed remittances.
Following Salman’s announcement, representatives of both countries signed 17 investment deals and memorandums of understanding.
A government official said the deals agreed with Saudi Arabia throughout Salman’s visit would amount to about US$1.7 billion.
They included an agreement to build a university, homes and a power plant in South Sinai, Egypt.
Saudi Arabia was expected to make another major announcement last night, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Egypt said.
On Friday, both leaders lavished praise on each other’s country and their relationship.
“This visit comes as a confirmation of the pledges of brotherhood and solidarity before the two brotherly countries,” al-Sisi said in a televised speech.
“I believe that the special nature of the Saudi-Egyptian relationship will enable us to confront together shared challenges and to deal seriously with whoever tries to harm Arab national security,” al-Sisi said.
The visit follows months of reports in both Saudi and Egyptian newspapers of strained ties over Cairo’s unwillingness to participate fully in Saudi-led military operations against Iran-backed Shiite militants in Yemen.
Egypt had announced it would back Saudi Arabia with ground troops if needed, but appears to have balked at the prospect of becoming mired in the conflict.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese