The two leaders discussed the current affairs of the region and emphasized the depth of strategic relations between the Kingdom and Egypt.
During his one-day-visit, al-Sisi was greeted by Saudi Crown Prince Muqrin bin Abdul-Aziz and a delegation of high-ranking officials.
King Salman hosted a lunch banquet for al-Sisi and his accompanying delegation.
The Saudi King and the Egyptian President discussed the Middle East crisis in general and the deteriorating situation in Yemen, and emphasized the depth of strategic relation between the Kingdom and Egypt, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said.
Several Royal family members and a number of high-ranking Saudi and Egyptian officials attended the talks. Prominent among them were Crown Prince Muqrin, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, Defense Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Riyadh Governor Prince Faisal bin Bandar, National Guard Minister Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah and Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf.
Al-Sisi entourage included Sameh Shoukri, Foreign Minister; Khalid Fawzi, Chief of General Intelligence; and Alaa Yusuf, Spokesman of the Presidency.
Strong defense coordination between the GCC states and Egypt is a new dimension for their emerging alliance. Both Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz agreed that there is an important opportunity to establish a pan-Arab Army that will allow the participating states to protect themselves against all enemies.
Both leaders were specific when they said that they do not intend to attack anyone, and emphasized that they envisage the new force “protecting their security and defending their nations”. This ridicules any speculation that this new force would seek to take part in the coalition supporting the Iraqi government against Daesh or that it might form part of some new attempt to bring calm to Syria. The member states that are talking of building this defensive force may also be members of the coalition against Daesh, or have positions on the war in Syria, but that does not mean that this new force would be used in those contexts.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met the Saudi King on Monday while the South Korean President Park Geun-hye will also be flying to Riyadh this week.
Source: Al Arabiya; Gulf News; SPA
