During a meeting in Cairo yesterday with Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt valued the great positions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia toward Egypt and its people, stressing the need to strengthen cooperation between the two brotherly countries in all areas of cooperation to achieve the common interests of the two peoples. In a press statement, Egyptian presidential spokesman Ambassador Alaa Yousef said that the Deputy Crown Prince conveyed the greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, stressing the strength and durability of the strategic relations between the two brotherly countries . He added that the Deputy Crown Prince stressed the kingdom's keenness to deepen cooperation and continuous coordination between the two countries, particularly in light of the start of the second meeting of the joint Egyptian-Saudi coordination council, which represents a framework for the partnership between the two countries. He pointed out that the Deputy Crown Prince stressed the importance of Egypt's role in unifying Arab efforts in the current stage to enable the Arab nation to face the challenges, particularly the fight against terrorism, and the establishment of security and stability in the Middle East, and ending the existing crises in the region. The ambassador said, "Prince Mohammed bin Salman praised the achievements of Egypt during the recent period," stressing the kingdom's firm position on supporting the development process in Egypt. He explained that the President Sisi asked to convey his greetings to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, stressing Egypt's keenness on supporting all Arab and international efforts to combat terrorism. The spokesman added that the Egyptian president pointed out the importance of strengthening Arab efforts to reach a political settlement to the crises experienced by some Arab countries Yusuf said that the meeting dealt with the meetings of the joint Egyptian-Saudi Coordination Council, which aims to strengthen the bonds of trade and economic cooperation and exchange reflecting the distinguished relationship between the two countries. The Egyptian spokesman said that the meeting discussed the Islamic military alliance to combat terrorism and the latest regional developments in the region, especially in Syria, Yemen, Libya. In the same context, the Egypt Prime Minister Engineer Ismail Sharif described the second meeting of the Saudi-Egyptian Coordination Council as friendly, during which a number of projects were agreed on, including the provision of materials for energy. In a press statement, Sharif explained that that the third meeting of the Saudi-Egyptian Coordination Council will be held on 5th January next year in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, pointing out that regular meetings will be held during 15 to 20 days to discuss a number of bilateral projects that are still being carrying out. Asked if there was a new Saudi deposit, the Egyptian prime minister said that 'We are negotiating them with the kingdom, and discussions are still going on,' pointing out that the Saudi side expressed interest in the projects presented by Egypt in a number of areas. For her part, Minister of International Cooperation in Egypt, Dr. Sahar Nasr said that the discussions emphasized the importance of joint cooperation between the two countries. She described the meeting as good, saying that during the meeting a number of housing, tourism, petroleum and electricity projects were discussed, as well as discussion about the development of the Sinai Peninsula through a soft loan from the Saudi Fund for Development.
