News Analysis: Egypt's Sisi visit to Saudi to promote bilateral ties back to normal

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is going to Saudi Arabia on Sunday to meet with King Salman in a public show of good relations between the two allies after months at odds.

"The visit will push the bilateral relations towards its right and normal track," said Gamal Bayoumi, Secretary General of Egypt's Arab Investors Union.

"The bilateral direct talks are a good opportunity for communication that would melt any misunderstanding," Bayoumi added.

The two leaders will discuss bilateral relations and means of enhancing them, which come in the context of their keenness to support joint coordination, official news agency MENA reported on Friday.

"King Salman invited Sisi for an official visit to the kingdom, which was welcomed," said the Egyptian presidency in a statement early April.

President Sisi, in turn, invited Salman back, who then promised to visit Egypt in the very near future, the presidency added.

The two leaders met on March 30 on the sidelines of an Arab summit in Jordan and discussed improving relations, which was the first sign of breaking the ice after months of disagreements over some political issues.

The two countries have disagreed over Syria and Yemen, and the transfer of two Red Sea islands from Egypt to Saudi.

However, officials from both countries have repeatedly denied the existence of tensions or disagreements between the Arab region's most populous country and it's richest.

Saudi Arabia supported Egypt with billions of dollars in aid after the ouster in 2013 of Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist president from the Muslim Brotherhood, a common enemy for both of the countries.

"In Yemen, Riyadh wanted Cairo to play a central role in its war against Houthi group that controls the capital, but Cairo was reluctant to experience a previous Yemeni quagmire during late President Abdel Nasser," said Saeed el-Lawendi, international relations expert with Ahram center for political and strategic relations.

Egypt is already stuck in a fierce war against terrorism inside and could not spare more troops, el-Lawendi added.

Egypt voted for a Russian-backed UN resolution on Syria in October which was opposed by Saudi. Also, Egypt has been seeking warmer ties with Russia, Saudi's foe in the Syrian conflict.

Furthermore, in January, an Egyptian court rejected a government plan to transfer two Red Sea islands in Tiran Strait to Saudi Arabia.

On April 6, Saudi Arabia state oil company Aramco resumed delivering four oil shipments to Egypt after being halted in October without any official reasons.

"The theory of copy-paste views is no longer ruling the international relations. But allies could enhance their relations by reaching consensus on some disputed issues," the political expert el-Lawendi explained.

While Saudi Arabia adopted military intervention in Yemen and saw it the only way for ending the Syrian crisis, Egypt believed in political solutions in both countries.

Sisi's visit seeks to open a new chapter in relations that would be based on convergent views and not identical approaches, with maintaining each country's interests, el-Lawendi added. Endit