
File Photo: Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi (Reuters)
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi headed Thursday morning to Saudi Arabia for Arab summits convened in the holy city of Mecca to discuss regional security, his spokesman said.
The Gulf kingdom is holding two emergency Arab summits Thursday to discuss tensions with Iran against the backdrop of attacks on tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and drone strikes on oil pumping stations in Saudi Arabia earlier this month.
Riyadh accused Iran of ordering the drone strikes, but Tehran denies any involvement in the incident
Qatar, which is facing a Saudi-led economic and political boycott from Arab states including Egypt, has been invited to the summit.
El-Sisi is expected to give an address during the Thursday gathering on ways to preserve security and stability in the region and bolster Arab cooperation, spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement.
El-Sisi will also take part in another summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Friday in Islam’s holiest site.
The Egyptian president is planned to hold a number of bilateral talks with Arab and Islamic leaders on the sidelines of the two gatherings.
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