Cairo: Bahraini King Shaikh Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa arrived in Egypt on Tuesday evening on a two-day visit aimed at enhancing ties between the two allied Arab countries.
President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi welcomed the Bahraini monarch at Cairo airport as major roads in the city were adorned with flags of both countries.
Talks between the two leaders are expected to focus on promoting relations between Egypt and the Gulf country, state media said. Al Sissi and Shaikh Hamad will also review regional hotspots, mainly Syria and Yemen.
During the Bahraini leader’s visit, a number of cooperation pacts will be signed covering agriculture, health care, media, culture and investment. Bahrain’s investment in Egypt is estimated at around $1.7 billion (Dh6.24 billion), according to official figures.
The visit is King Hamad’s third to Egypt since Al Sissi took office in mid-2014. In March 2015, the Bahraini monarch attended a major Egyptian economic forum in the Red Sea city of Sharm Al Shaikh. In August last year, he attended a ceremony in Egypt marking the inauguration of an extension to the Suez Canal.
The current trip comes days after His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, made a brief visit to Egypt.
Earlier this month, Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz made his first visit to Egypt since ascending the throne more than a year ago.
On Tuesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri urged Iran to reconsider its “meddlesome” policy in the Arab world.
“Iran has a close history with the Arab world. Still, we refuse its current policy. Until it changes its policy, the call for Arab solidarity remains in place in order to face whatever affects the Arab national security,” Shukri told a joint press conference in Cairo with his Bahraini counterpart Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa.
Bahrain has repeatedly accused Iran of trying to destabilise it.
“We have a problem with Iran’s ambitions. This requires [Tehran] to change its policy towards the region’s countries,” the Bahraini official said.
Shukri said that Egypt backs Bahrain’s stability and unity against what he called “attempts to undermine it”.
Bahrain and other Gulf nations have been key diplomatic and financial backers of Egypt since 2013 when the army, led at the time by Al Sissi, deposed president Mohammad Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood following massive street protests against his rule.
