Friendship finds new shores

RIYADH: A bridge is going to be built over the Red Sea between Saudi Arabia and Egypt named after Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.

This was announced by King Salman here Friday, on the second day of his five-day visit to Egypt. The Saudi monarch also received the Order of the Nile, the highest Egyptian honor, from President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo on Friday.
In a televised address after the bilateral meeting with El-Sisi, King Salman said he had agreed with the Egyptian leader to build a bridge. It would transform the relationship between the two nations, including boosting trade, said the king.
Meanwhile, 24 investment deals and 15 bilateral agreements have been signed between the two sides, including the establishment of King Salman University in Sinai, prevention of double taxation and tax evasion, and commissioning of the Cairo West Power Plant Project.
There would also be cooperation on the development and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, construction of residential areas within the King Salman Development Project, development of Palace Aini Hospital in Cairo, and maritime cooperation.
When he arrived in Cairo, King Salman wrote on his Twitter page: “Egypt has a special place in my heart, and the Kingdom values it and our strategic relationship, which is important to the Arab and Muslim worlds. God protect Egypt and its people.”
El-Sisi welcomed the king and also posted a message on Twitter. “I welcome my brother His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, to Egypt, his second country.”
The Saudi royal court issued a release stating that King Salman’s visit to Cairo was a result of “the solid fraternal ties between Saudi Arabia and the Arab Republic of Egypt,” and was aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and developing a joint strategy to deal with regional and international issues.
King Salman was warmly welcomed in Egypt. At the Heliopolis Palace, 21 cannon shots were fired to welcome him. There were photographs displayed of him along several Cairo streets, alongside the Egyptian flag.
Presidential Spokesman Alaa Youssef said the Egyptian leadership and people held the Saudi monarch and the Kingdom’s people in high esteem because of the support they received over the years.
Saudi Arabia has supported Cairo with billions of dollars in aid, grants, oil products and cash deposits to help buoy the country’s economy following the ouster of President Muhammad Mursi in July 2013.