Cairo: Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi is due in Kuwait on Monday for his first visit to the allied Gulf country since he took office in June last year.
Al Sissi’s office said his talks with Kuwaiti Emir Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah would focus on enhancing ties between the two countries and the regional situation.
Kuwait has been a major political and financial backer of Al Sissi since he led the army’s 2013 overthrow of president Mohammad Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood following enormous street protests against the Islamist leader’s rule.
Kuwait along with the UAE and Saudi Arabia have pumped billions of dollars into the Egyptian economy battered by more than three years of political turmoil in the wake of the 2011 uprising that forced long-time president Hosni Mubarak to step down.
Al Sissi travelled to Saudi Arabia in August and is expected to visit Bahrain and the UAE early this year.
Gulf countries, except for Qatar, suspect the Brotherhood’s agenda and its influence on local Islamists.
Al Sissi’s trip to Kuwait comes amid growing signs of a potential reconciliation between Egypt and Qatar to end a standoff over the latter’s support for the Brotherhood.
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have made efforts in recent months for resolving the Egyptian-Qatari row.
The visit also comes months ahead of an international economic conference to be hosted by Egypt with the aim of attracting foreign investment.
Egyptian-Kuwaiti trade exchange reached $2.8 billion (Dh10 billion) last year, according to official figures in Cairo.
“The visit is part of Egypt’s efforts to boost partnership with the Gulf countries,” said Mohammad Ezz, an expert at the Cairo-based Al Ahram Centre for Strategic Studies.
Ezz expected that Al Sissi’s talks in Kuwait will seek to encourage top investors to attend the economic conference due to be held in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm Al Shaikh in March.
“Kuwait is a big supporter for Egypt in its war on terrorism,” Ezz added. Egyptian authorities are pursuing an inexorable security campaign against Islamist insurgents blamed for a wave of deadly attacks in the country since Mursi’s removal.
