Interim President Adly Mansour is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia on Monday and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on Tuesday.
State-run news agency MENA reported that Mansour will be holding bilateral talks with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. They will be discussing bolstering mutual support between the neighbouring countries with stress on the importance of economic cooperation and investments.
Saudi Arabia is Mansour’s first destination abroad, the same as ousted President Mohamed Morsi, whose first official visit abroad was to Saudi Arabia, in July 2012.
After Morsi’s ouster on 3 July, Saudi Arabia pledged $5bn to Egypt. The money was divided into a billion in grants, two in loans, and two in fuel and petroleum products.
Upon learning that Mansour would be visiting Saudi Arabia, sister of detained lawyer Ahmed Al-Gizawy, Shereen Al-Gizawy said: “I demand that President Adly Mansour prove his goodwill towards the Egyptian people by defending the rights of Egyptians abroad,” in a letter on 17 September. She called on Mansour to see to her brother’s release.
Ahmed Al-Gizawy is a lawyer who was arrested on 17 April 2012 while on his way to perform Umrah (minor pilgrimage) in Mecca but was detained at King Abdul Aziz Airport in Jeddah. Al-Gizawy was sentenced to five years in prison and 300 lashes by the General Court of Jeddah and is currently appealing the verdict.
Al-Gizawy’s case had put a strain on bilateral relations after his arrest sparked widespread protests in Egypt, prompting Saudi Arabia to recall its ambassador and close its embassy and consulates in Egypt.
Mansour’s trip to Saudi Arabia will be followed by a trip to Jordan where Mansour will be meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah II ibn Al-Hussein. The two will discuss bilateral relations and ways to increase trade and economic ties. They will also be discussing the conditions of Egyptian workers in Jordan.
The Jordanian king held talks with Mansour in Cairo on 20 July, in which the two discussed ways to improve ties. The Jordanian King’s visit came days after Morsi’s ouster, during which he expressed his support for the will of the Egyptian people, MENA reported. His trip was the first by a foreign leader to visit Mansour.
Jordanian Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Abdullah Ensour met with Egypt’s Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi in Cairo on Saturday. Ensour told El-Beblawi that Egyptian workers are welcomed in Jordan and that they are given attention and support by all institutions, Jordan’s official news agency reported.
