Informed Egyptian sources revealed behind the scenes and new details of the recent meeting between the Egyptian President Sisi and the Saudi Crown Prince in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh.
In an interview with Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed, the sources stated: In this meeting, the Saudi Crown Prince informed Al-Sisi of Riyadh’s agreement to extend the Saudi dollar deposits with the Central Bank of Egypt; $ 5.5 billion in deposits that Egypt was due to repay to Saudi Arabia by the end of this year.
The mentioned sources added: this action was done in the framework of coordination of regional positions between the two countries.
Saudi Arabia’s deposits with the Central Bank of Egypt will reach $ 7.8 billion, which will be divided into four parts, the last payment in the second half of 2022 will be worth $ 668 million.
The volume of deposits of Arab countries with the Central Bank of Egypt was $ 17.2 billion, which belongs to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE. Egyptian officials recently reached an agreement with Kuwait and the UAE to extend the deadline for the payment of these deposits until the end of this year. Kuwait has $ 5 billion in the Central Bank of Egypt.
Informed Egyptian sources further stated: Al-Sisi and bin Salman discussed the revival of the proposal to form an Arab military force; The proposal, known as the “Arab NATO” led by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, is responsible for securing the interests of Arab countries in the Red Sea and the Arab-disputed areas and preventing Iranian influence in the region.
The sources added: “The case of the formation of the Arab military force is proceeding in a positive atmosphere due to the coordination and convergence of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and Sudan has also welcomed this proposal and announced its readiness to join it.”
The Egyptian sources added: “Talks at the level of the military leaders of the three countries are likely to begin in the not-too-distant future. Consultations have taken place between the Palestinian Authority and resistance groups on the one hand, and Tel Aviv and Palestinian groups on the other.
The sources continued that the President of Egypt has conveyed the request of the Palestinian resistance groups to Saudi Arabia for the release of senior members of Hamas to the Saudi Crown Prince.
Hamas has repeatedly called on Riyadh to release Dr. Mohammed al-Khadri, the movement’s representative in Saudi Arabia, his son, and several other Hamas members who are being held without charge in Saudi Arabia.
According to the report, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement has asked the head of the Egyptian intelligence service to mediate between the movement and Riyadh so that Al-Khadri and other Hamas prisoners in Saudi Arabia can be released.
Saudi Arabia has detained more than 60 Palestinians and Jordanians for supporting the Palestinian cause and has charged them with “aiding and abetting a terrorist group.”
Last Friday, the President of Egypt welcomed the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia in the Egyptian port city of Sharm el-Sheikh.
According to Middle East News, Sisi posted a picture of himself with the Saudi Crown Prince on his official Facebook page and wrote: “Today I was happy to meet my brother, Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “Our meeting focused on ways to develop and expand relations between the two countries, while the two sides also shared common views on regional and international issues.”
“I emphasize the special and distinct relations that unite Egypt and Saudi Arabia on both the official and popular levels,” he concluded.
