CAIRO: Saudi Defense Minister Prince Mohamed bin Salman arrived in Cairo Thursday morning to meet with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi for talks on bilateral relations, Yemeni and Syrian issues, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported Wednesday.
A Saudi delegation arrived in Cairo International Airport Thursday morning ahead of bin Salman’s visit, officials from the airport told Youm7.
The one-day visit comes a week after Egypt’s foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry had visited Jeddah where he and his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir assured mutual support to the legitimacy of the Yemeni government.
This is Prince Salman’s second visit to Egypt since appointed to the post on Jan. 23.
Cairo has hosted a series of negotiations between former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and diplomats from U.S., Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates to put an end to the four-month crisis.
A Yemeni delegation is currently visiting Cairo for resuming the talks; however, head of the delegation Abu Kakr al-Qirbi, who was also Foreign Affairs Minister during Saleh’s regime, has left Cairo to London.
Egypt was one of nine member states that participated in the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen against the Iran-backed Houthis, who have controlled northern parts of the country since January. The coalition troops have launched airstrikes against the Shiite Houthis in March.