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Signs of thaw between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Hamas
Signs of thaw between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Hamas
Fri, 03/02/2017 – 10:58 Al-Masry Al-Youm
http://www.egyptindependent.com//news/signs-thaw-between-egypt-and-saudi-arabia-turkey-hamas
The past few days have seen several moves that reflected a desire for
political rapprochement between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the Islamic
resistance movement Hamas.
During his tour on Wednesday at Jenadriyah cultural festival, King Salman
bin Abdulaziz expressed his admiration of the Egyptian pavilion, saying:
“Egypt has come back [and restored its cultural significance].”
“Every year the Festival chooses a sisterly or friendly state to be the
guest of honor of the Jenadriyah festival and this year’s guest is the Arab
Republic of Egypt…the country of civilization, literature, arts and
knowledge; in an extension of the strong historical relations between the
two countries,” the Minister of Saudi Arabia’s National Guard and President
of the Supreme Committee of the Festival, Prince Miteb bin Abdullah said.
He added that relations between the two Arab countries have been growing in
different fields, starting from the reign of Abdulaziz, who founded the
festival, until now.
Relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia have been strained since Egypt
voted for two UN Security Council bills on Syria. After that, the kingdom
suspended oil supplies from Aramco — a company headed by crown prince
Mohammad bin Salman — to Egypt for three months without stating clear
reasons.
Saudi Arabia suspended also all memoranda of understanding and agreements
signed with President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi during Salman’s visit to Cairo in
April. The suspended MoUs were in the fields of commerce, industry and
anti-corruption.
However, there have recently been indicators that relations between Egypt
and Saudi Arabia are witnessing a slight improvement since Sisi issued a
decree several days ago approving an MoU with the Saudi Fund for Development
for US$1.5 billion to finance the Sinai Peninsula development project.
On the other hand, the first visit to Egypt by a Turkish economic delegation
since June 30, 2013, that took place recently in Cairo, has raised
controversy about the revival of Turkish-Egyptian political relations; the
relations were abruptly severed after the June 30 and the ouster of the
Muslim Brotherhood.
Sources said that the delegation, which visited Egypt three days ago, headed
by Ihsanoglu the Chairperson of the Turkish Federation of the Chambers of
Commerce and Industry, belonged to former Turkish President Abdullah Gul who
had a less intransigent position toward Egypt’s current regime. Gul made
many positive statements that upheld reconciliation with Egypt and the
resumption of ties.
Sources with the Federation which organized the delegation’s visit said it
obtained the permit from security authorities in Turkey before flying to
Egypt.
In a related context, a delegation from Hamas arrived in Cairo two days ago
through the Rafah crossing. The delegation was headed by Director General of
the Internal Security Forces Major General Tawfiq Abu Naim and met with
several Egyptian security officials.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
Source: http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=72130
