Saudi Arabia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal Bin Farhan and Egyptian President Abdul Fattah El-Sisi discussed issues related to regional security in a meeting in Cairo, the Kingdom's foreign ministry said on Monday. El-Sisi hailed the Egyptian-Saudi "special relations," and affirmed Egypt's keenness to develop bilateral cooperation to serve the interests of the peoples of the two countries. Sisi also reviewed Egypt's fixed stance on Libya, including the necessity to undermine illegal foreign interference and combat violence and terrorist groups, in order to restore security and stability in the country. Prince Faisal had a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, earlier and discussed Saudi Arabia and Egypt's mutual support and cooperation when it comes to facing all threats to their stability and security, the Egypt-based Middle East News Agency reported. In a joint press conference, the two foreign ministers said they have discussed the security of the region, adding that Saudi Arabia supports Egypt's position on Libya. Egypt's parliament authorized last week the deployment of troops outside the country, allowing President El-Sisi to act on his threat of military action against Turkish-backed forces in Libya. Prince Faisal said the Kingdom is against any kind of foreign interference in Libya, while Shoukry said that his country will "not tolerate the presence of terrorists" in neighboring Libya. Shoukry also said Egypt supports an immediate ceasefire in Libya, but added that there is no political will to reach a solution through talks in the North African country. Libya has plunged into chaos since the 2011 toppling of Muammar Gaddafi. Clashes between the two main warring parties in the North African country, the Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by Khalifa Haftar and the Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Fayez Al-Serraj, have intensified recently. Many foreign powers have backed different sides of the conflict with varying degrees of support, with the most prominent countries being Turkey backing the GNA and Egypt backing the LNA. — Agencies
