Saudi crown prince visits Egypt ahead of Türkiye trip

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has arrived in Egypt, the Egyptian presidency said, starting his first tour outside the Gulf region in over three years. He will also visit Jordan and Türkiye.

The prince's trip on Monday comes ahead of next month's visit to the region by US President Joe Biden, who is expected to meet Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia after a visit to Israel, with the Ukraine conflict and regional security on the agenda.

Prince Mohammed, known as MbS, will hold talks with the leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Türkiye on strengthening bilateral cooperation and matters of joint interest, Saudi state news agency SPA said.

Sources have said MbS and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi would discuss issues including the impact of the Ukraine war and alignment of the Saudi and Egyptian positions ahead of Biden's trip to the region in mid-July.

Sisi welcomed MbS at Cairo airport on Monday evening, Egypt's presidency said.

Saudi Arabia has provided billions of dollars in financial support to Egypt since Sisi came to power, and its sovereign wealth is expected to announce investments as Cairo struggles with the economic knock-on effect of the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

READ MORE: Türkiye to take 'concrete steps' to normalise ties with Saudi Arabia

Jordan, Türkiye trips

On Tuesday, the prince is expected to head to Amman for talks with King Abdullah to improve ties strained by regional rivalries and unfulfilled Saudi pledges to shore up Jordan's struggling economy, diplomats and sources with knowledge of the plans said.

Biden said on Friday he was not travelling to Saudi Arabia explicitly to meet MbS but was seeing the crown prince as part of a broader "international meeting" expected to include leaders from Gulf Arab states, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who visited the kingdom in April in the first high-level trip in years, said he would host Prince Mohammed on Wednesday.

"A new era will begin and there will be full normalisation. Within the scope of the visit, some agreements will be signed in the fields of energy, economy and security," a senior Turkish official said.

READ MORE: Saudi crown prince set to visit Türkiye: Erdogan