Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gestures during the graduation ceremony of the 93rd batch of the cadets of King Faisal Air Academy, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 21, 2018. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/REUTERS
CAIRO - 4 March 2018: Military warplanes accompanied the royal jet of Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud into Egypt’s airspace on Sunday, where he visits the country for two days in his maiden foreign tour as a heir of the throne.
Through his personal Twitter account, head of private office for bin Salman, Badr al-Asaker shared a photo of the warplanes surrounding the royal jet, commenting: “Warplanes welcomes and accompanies the jet of HRH Mohamed bin Salman once he entered the Egyptian airspace, the Crown Prince is in Cairo.”
President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi welcomed Mohamed bin Salman, dubbed as MBS, at the airport in official ceremonies.
on Sunday in his first official trip since being designated as a Crown Prince to the Saudi Kingdom on June 21, 2017, succeeding Prince Muhammad bin Nayef.
Ambassador Bassam Radi, the official spokesperson of the Egyptian Presidency, previously told Egypt Today that Sisi and MBS are expected to engage into intensive talks tackling the recent developments in the region such as the ongoing wars in Syria and Yemen.
“Bilateral economic relations and combating terrorism will top the agenda of both leaders,” Radi told Egypt Today on Sunday.
Bin Salman’s three-day visit to Egypt will be followed by a European tour to London where he will meet with Prime Minister Theresa May on March 7, prior to his visit to the United States on March 19 to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump.
The arrangement of the first three trips by the Saudi Crown Prince reflects the importance of Egypt in the Saudi foreign diplomacy in the next phase. Bin Salman is scheduled to meet with Sisi to discuss issues of mutual interest, the latest developments in the Arab region and the enhancement of bilateral relations in different fields.
“Egypt appreciates the historic visit by the Crown Prince as the first official foreign visit since he was designated as a Crown Prince in June,” Radi stressed.
On Friday, the Egyptian Presidency issued a statement welcoming the visit and describing bin Salman as a “dear guest in his second home, Egypt, for three days.”
On Thursday, Cairo International Airport received a number of Saudi officials preparing for the visit of bin Salman on Sunday. The delegation preparing for bin Salman’s visit to Egypt was the second Saudi delegation to arrive in Cairo. It was received by a number of employees at the Saudi Embassy in Cairo.
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