Prince Mohammed eyes strategic cooperation during Arab nations tour

During his regional tour, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sought out to strengthen key alliances with Egypt, Mauritania, Tunisia, Algeria, as well as neighboring GCC countries of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

His tour of the Arab nations began on November 23, but he then travelled to Argentina for the G20 summit. The Crown Prince later resumed his regional tour and headed to Mauritania and Algeria.

The strategic tour of neighboring Gulf countries, as well as his visits to North African nations signaled that the Kingdom is looking to cement its economic and political partnerships across the Arab world.

UAE

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman kicked off the tour with a visit to one of his closest allies, the UAE. He met with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed. The two officials discussed regional and international developments, and the challenges and risks facing the Middle East region.

Bahrain

After leaving the UAE, Prince Mohammed visited King Hamad of Bahrain to discuss bilateral relations. Both leaders talked about the deep-rooted fraternal and historic relations binding the two countries, in addition to the latest regional, Arab and international developments.  

Egypt

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi later received Prince Mohammed Bin Salman at Cairo, Egypt, on what was the third vist of the tour. The two leaders discussed bilateral relations and ways of enhancing them in various fields, in addition to discussing political issues of mutual interest.

Tunisia

The Crown Prince then continued to neighboring countries in North Africa to meet with Tunisia’s President Beij Caid Essebsi to discuss the steady development in bilateral relations. Both sides talked about ways to strengthen cooperation in a number of priority areas, such as the economy and finance, investment promotion, security and military cooperation to counter the risks of extremism and terrorism and exchange experiences and expertise in scientific and cultural fields.

The two countries also discussed Tunisia’s preparations to host the 30th Arab League Summit in March 2019.

Mauritania

Resuming the tour of Arab nations after attending the G20 summit, Prince Mohammed visited Mauritania to meet President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and several senior officials.

The two leaders held bilateral talks and ways of improving them, as well as the latest regional developments. The two sides also signed an agreement and two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on combating tax evasion. 

In addition, Saudi Information Minister Dr. Awwad al-Awwad revealed that the Kingdom will construct the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Hospital in Mauritania, which will be the largest hospital in the country.

Algeria

The Crown Prince then visited Algeria. The visit aimed at talks with senior officials covering regional developments, bilateral relations, investment projects and economic partnerships.

The two sides also agreed to establish a supreme coordination council under co-chairmanship of Crown Prince Mohammed and Algeria's Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, in order to enhance cooperation in the fields of politics, security, combating terrorism and extremism, economy, trade, investment, energy, mining, culture and education.