Riyadh, Cairo cement trade, political ties

RIYADH: The five-day visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to Egypt will cement ties between the two allies, including boosting plans to fight terrorism, promote economic development, and ensure unity and political stability in the Arab world.
This according to a report in a local publication on Friday, which said that the visit is further consolidation of the Cairo Declaration signed earlier this year between Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, second deputy premier and defense minister, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
The report said that King Salman’s talks with El-Sisi sends a clear message to detractors that the Arab world would not countenance attempts to undermine countries in the region.
The relations between the two nations goes back to 1944 when King Abdulaziz met with King Farouk to set out a vision for bilateral ties based on a treaty signed in 1926.
On Oct. 27, 1955, a joint defense agreement was signed between the two countries.
King Abdulaziz, expressing the importance of the ties between the two nations, said at the time: “Arabs can’t be separated from Egypt and Egypt can’t be separated from the Arabs.”
This assured Egypt the Kingdom’s support when it came under attack in 1956, in a conflict known as the Tripartite Aggression.
The leaders of the two nations continued to conduct high-level visits over the years. On March 16, 1987, King Salman, then the governor of Riyadh, visited Egypt to inaugurate an exhibition on the historic relations between the two nations.
On Feb. 28, 2015, El-Sisi visited the Kingdom to attend the 26th Arab summit and on Nov. 10, 2015, he again arrived in Saudi Arabia to participate in the 4th Summit of South American-Arab Countries.
Economic relations have grown steadily from 1970 to $5.77 billion through companies and institutions.
There has been $2 billion invested in the industrial sector, $1 billion in construction, $933 million in tourism, and $693 million in the finance sector. There has also been investments in agriculture, services, telecommunications and military cooperation.
The report said that the Kingdom supported Egypt in various conflicts including in the 1948 Palestine war, the 1967 Arab Naksa, and Ramadan war of 1973. Egypt stood with the Kingdom in the 1991 Kuwait Liberation war, Decisive Storm last year, and recently joined the Islamic coalition against terrorism.