Saudi crown prince lands in Egypt to meet Sisi: Egyptian state-linked media

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Cairo on Tuesday ahead of meetings with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egyptian state-linked media said, as the kingdom vowed to respond to attacks by Yemen's Houthis.

The regional powers are expected to discuss the threat posed by Houthi control over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping route vital to both Saudi oil exports and Egypt's Suez Canal revenues.

The de facto Saudi ruler "arrived in Egypt on an official visit", reported Al-Qahera News, which is close to Egyptian intelligence services. Riyadh's foreign ministry said Sisi received the crown prince for a "working visit".

Last week, the Houthis seized control of Yemen's Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, threatening the last direct route to Asian markets for the world's largest oil exporter.

Bab al-Mandeb, the southern gateway to the Red Sea and Egypt's Suez Canal, has become essential for Saudi oil exports this year, with the Strait of Hormuz blocked by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Since the Houthis declared a naval blockade on the kingdom in July, Saudi Arabia has relied more heavily on Egypt to export oil, chiefly through its overland Sumed pipeline.

Crude is transported from the Saudi Red Sea port of Yanbu to Egypt's Ain Sokhna, and carried overland through the pipeline to the eastern Mediterranean at Sidi Kerir.

But a recent drone attack, which Riyadh said was launched from Iraq, forced it to shut the East-West pipeline that feeds Yanbu, pushing global oil prices above the $100 threshold.

Disruption to Bab al-Mandeb could land Egypt with heavy losses too, with Cairo reliant on Suez Canal tolls for crucial foreign revenue.

Revenues from the waterway are currently around half of what they were before the Houthis started attacking ships in 2023, in what they said was an act of solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said last week Cairo's Suez Canal losses stood at $11 billion.