Sisi meets UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, Bahrain's King Hamad in New Alamein

Egyptian President Abdel Fattal El-Sisi held talks on Saturday in New Alamein with the UAE’s President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed on mutual relations between the two countries and ways to develop them further, according to Emirati news agency WAM.

The two leaders “reviewed existing areas of cooperation and collaboration, especially in the areas of economy and investment, which further enhance the ongoing progress and prosperity of both countries and their people,” WAM said.

They also agreed on the importance of intensifying joint Arab action to confront regional and global challenges.

On the same day, El-Sisi also met Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa in the new city on Egypt's Mediterranean coast. 

“The two leaders affirmed the strength of the distinguished fraternal relations between the two countries. They also discussed ways to continue bolstering joint cooperation in the economic and development fields to achieve the aspirations of the two peoples for more progress and prosperity,” said a statement from the Bahrain News Agency.

Over the past decade, since El-Sisi came to power in a coup that overthrew the democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi, Egypt has increasingly come to rely on aid and investment from the Gulf, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

With Egypt’s economy lunging from crisis to crisis, Gulf countries pledged $22 billion to Cairo in 2022, with the UAE also buying billions of dollars in Egyptian state-held stakes in publicly listed companies.