Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman to visit Egypt on maiden foreign tour

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will visit Egypt on Sunday for his first foreign tour as heir to the throne, ahead of scheduled trips to the United States and Britain.

The two-day visit to Cairo comes ahead of Egypt's presidential polls, scheduled for late March, with incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expected to win a second four-year term.

A government source said on Thursday that Prince Mohammed's choice of Egypt for his maiden overseas trip as crown prince "reaffirms Saudi-Egyptian cooperation at the highest level".

Talks would cover regional nemesis Iran, the conflict in Yemen, counter-terrorism and energy cooperation, the source said.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt are key regional allies that have stood together in both the war in Yemen and the Qatar crisis. They both oppose Iran's influence in the region.

Egypt is part of a Saudi-led military coalition which intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to fight Iran-backed Houthi rebels, a conflict that United Nations says has engendered the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt are also part of a bloc of nations that has blockaded Qatar since June over alleged ties to terrorism and Iran. Qatar denies the accusations.

The crown prince, who was named heir to the throne in June, is also expected to visit France in the coming weeks.

The powerful crown prince is expected in Britain next Wednesday for talks with Prime Minister Theresa May and in the United States from March 19 to 22.