Government | Sunday 10 April, 2016 8:00 am |

King Salman will address Egypt’s parliament on Sunday, deputy head of parliament Soliman Wahdan was quoted as saying by the local media.

King Salman announced on Friday that the Kingdom and Egypt have agreed to build a bridge over the Red Sea connecting the two countries.

The two countries also signed as many as 17 landmark agreements covering a wide range of fields including trade, housing, transport, education, culture, nuclear, manpower and to establish a university in Egypt’s South Sinai. The agreements are worth approximately $1.7 billion, reports said.

Other agreements signed were to avoid double taxation, cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy, cooperation in the fields of sea transport and ports, establishment of King Salman University in El-Tor city in Sinai, construction of residential compounds in Sinai, setting up of electricity plant, west of Cairo, and developing Al-Qasr Al-Aini Hospital.

Memoranda of understanding were signed in the fields of electricity and energy, labor, housing and real estate development, agriculture, cooperation in commerce and industry, and protecting honesty and combating corruption. Some executive programs were also signed and they cover the areas of education, cultural cooperation, and cooperation in the radio and television fields.

Meanwhile, Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayyeb met Friday night King Salman to discuss combating extremism, state news agency MENA reported. Al-Tayyeb, the head of the world’s oldest Sunni institution, described the King’s five-day visit to Egypt as “historic.”

Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II also met King Salman on Friday. During the meeting, Tawadros expressed his gratitude for Saudi support for Egypt, emphasizing the depth and strength of Egyptian-Saudi relations throughout history.

The Coptic pope also emphasized that all religions call for tolerance and coexistence.

This was the first ever meeting between the head of the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox and a Saudi King. The meeting took place at the King’s residence in Cairo.