Cairo: Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, currently on a visit to Egypt, has met the Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II, the first such meeting between a Saudi monarch and a Coptic pontiff.
The meeting was held on Friday night in Cairo as part of King Salman’s first visit to Egypt since he ascended to the throne more than a year ago.
The meeting focused on inter-religion tolerance, the Coptic Church’s Media Centre said in a statement.
It quoted the pope as telling the Saudi leader that his visit to Egypt “emphasises relations of fraternity and affinity” between the two countries.
The Saudi monarch, meanwhile, expressed his country’s full support for Egypt in all fields, according to the centre.
The meeting came hours after King Salman unveiled a plan to build a Red Sea bridge linking his country and Egypt to enhance their trade.
Christians make up around 10 per cent of Egypt’s mostly Muslim population of around 90 million.
Egyptian Christians are mostly backers of President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi who as a defence minister in 2003 led the army’s takeover of government after deposing Islamist president Mohammad Mursi following massive protests against his rule.
Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam.
In 2007, the then Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz held an unprecedented meeting with the then Catholic Pope Benedict XVI.
