The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz addressed an assembly of Egyptians yesterday in a historic speech in Egypt’s parliament. He said that “Experiences have proved that working together makes us much stronger and stressed that the task “that we should be working on is the fight against terrorism”. He added that there was a political will and a serious endeavour to create a joint Arab force.

King Salman emphasised the importance of close cooperation between Egypt and Saudi Arabia to achieve a balance in the region instead of disunity, and said that this balance would serve the Muslim community’s issues, particularly the Palestinian cause.

King Salman pointed out that there is an important opportunity for Egypt and Saudi Arabia to cooperate in the economic domain, alluding to the various memoranda of understanding and investment contracts that were signed in his presence during his current visit to Egypt. These include the building of a land bridge linking the two countries. King Salman pointed out that this bridge will be a gateway to enhance economic movement in Egypt, a passageway for travellers and pilgrims and will create jobs.

On his part, the Speaker of the House of Representatives Dr Ali Abdel Aal said that “the relationship between Egypt and Saudi Arabia is a brotherly relationship and not a guardian- ward one. It is bound by blood, history, doctrine and a common future. Abdel Aal told King Salman “this is the first time a Saudi king addresses Egypt’s people from under this [parliament] dome … your path is distinguished by the successes achieved by the kingdom … You have achieved many accomplishments in one year that will have a clear impact”.