Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi held talks with Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday.
They welcomed the upcoming Gulf Cooperation Council summit, which Saudi Arabia will host in July.
US President Joe Biden, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Sisi and Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi will attend the Jeddah summit.
Biden will visit the Kingdom in mid-July at the invitation of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz.
The visit will be his first to the Kingdom since taking office in early 2021. It aims to boost the historic bilateral relations and the unique strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia and the United States.
Presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said Sisi welcomed King Hamad and expressed pride in the historic ties that bring together both countries and peoples.
Sisi underscored Cairo’s keenness to bolster these ties in various fields, intensify the pace of joint coordination towards developments in the Middle East region, and enhance unity and joint Arab action to address various regional and international challenges.
The presidential statement quoted King Hamad as hailing the Egyptian-Bahraini sincere and close relations and affirming that his current visit to Egypt is a continuation of the distinguished bilateral relations.
King Hamad further lauded Egypt’s pivotal role as a cornerstone for regional peace and stability and its efforts to enhance joint Arab action at all levels.
He also praised the qualitative and major development in the bilateral ties in various political, economic and development fields, underlining both sides’ joint will to advance these ties.
Rady said King Hamad and Sisi discussed frameworks and prospects for joint cooperation, especially in the economic and investment fields, as well as optimizing the use of all available opportunities to enhance bilateral cooperation.
Talks also touched on major regional and international issues and reflected the mutual understanding on means to address them.
They agreed to maximize Egyptian-Bahraini cooperation and coordination to develop the system of joint Arab action in a way that helps protect Arab national security and enhance Arab capacities, the statement read.
