Saudi FM to visit Cairo amid rising tensions

Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir will visit Egypt next week as part of efforts to address tensions between the two countries, Egyptian MPs told reporters on Wednesday.

"A number of Egyptian diplomats have visited Saudi Arabia and vice versa in past weeks to prepare the ground for al-Jubeir's visit," said Mostafa Bakri, an independent MP and journalist.

MP Abdel Rehim Ali also said he knew from diplomatic sources that Jubeir's visit to Cairo would come in preparation for an Arab summit scheduled to be held in the Jordanian capital Amman at the end of March.

According to Ali, the last few weeks saw attempts on both sides to end disagreements on a number of issues related to Syria and a maritime borders demarcation deal.

Political tensions have emerged between the two countries since King Salman's April visit to Cairo last year, during which Egypt agreed to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.

The deal provoked angry reactions and protests by Egyptians, who argued that handing over the two islands to the Saudis was tantamount to a sell-off to the kingdom.

However, an Egyptian court blocked the islands deal in a final ruling in January.

The tensions also included diverging stances on the conflict in Syria.

Saudi Arabia suspended oil shipments to Egypt in October, a move announced after Cairo backed a Russian-drafted UN resolution on Syria that excluded calls to stop bombing Aleppo, angering Riyadh, which had strongly opposed the resolution.

Saudi Arabia has previously provided billions of dollars of aid to Egypt - reportedly including oil deliveries, direct investment, and deposits in the central bank to shore up Egypt's depleted currency reserves.