Cairo’s Warm Welcome for Saudi Crown Prince

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched his first foreign tour as crown prince with a three-day visit to Egypt, which will be followed by stops in the UK and then the U.S. Bin Salman’s choice of Cairo as his first destination reflects warming ties with Saudi Arabia after several years of strained relations.

During the crown prince’s visit, he signed a raft of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and agreements with Egypt, one of which activated a $16-billion joint fund managed by Saudi Arabia’s General Investment Authority and Egypt’s Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation. The two countries announced the fund’s creation during King Salman’s visit to Egypt in 2016, but no further action had been taken.

Part of the fund will be used to develop the Egyptian side of Neom, the border-spanning megacity envisioned by the crown prince. Ahead of the prince’s visit, Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court threw out all legal challenges to the transfer of two small Red Sea islands, Tiran and Sanafir, from Egypt to Saudi Arabia. The two countries agreed to the transfer in 2016, but it stalled due to domestic and legal opposition; the islands are understood to form part of the Neom project. Other agreements announced included MoUs regarding environmental protection as well as a cooperation agreement between Egypt’s General Authority for Freezones and Investments and its Saudi counterpart. Signaling his desire to promote religious tolerance, Mohammed bin Salman even met Coptic Pope Tawadros II at Cairo’s famous St. Mark’s Cathedral, becoming the first Saudi prince to visit the church.

Egypt’s feting of Mohammed bin Salman – and the young royal’s decision to make Egypt his first foreign tour stop – indicates the strategic importance that both sides assign to their relationship. It also marks a substantial warming of relations after a turbulent few years in which Egypt made clear its support for the Assad regime, refused to participate in the Saudi-backed campaign against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, and exasperated Gulf partners with its economic mismanagement. Saudi Aramco even suspended oil shipments to Egypt as a result of political tensions from late 2016 until March 2017. The Qatar crisis, in which Egypt backed Saudi Arabia and cut ties with Qatar, pushed Riyadh and Cairo closer once more.

The mending of fences between Egypt and Saudi Arabia – two of Washington’s primary regional partners – is good news for U.S. interests in the region. Closer Saudi-Egyptian cooperation will help Washington counter Iranian expansionism in the region. Ideally, Riyadh will encourage Cairo to distance itself from the Iranian-backed regime in Damascus. For its part, Cairo could help to hold Mohammed bin Salman accountable to his pledge to confront Islamic extremism within the kingdom. Cairo’s enthusiastic welcome for Riyadh’s crown prince holds serious promise, with its success – or failure – bound to affect much farther-flung capitals.

Varsha Koduvayur is a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where she focuses on the Gulf. Follow her on Twitter @varshakoduvayur.

Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD. FDD is a Washington-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.