Asharq Al-Awsat

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, visited on Monday Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo’s Abbasiya neighborhood.

Prince Mohammed met Coptic Pope Tawadros II at Cairo’s largest Coptic cathedral

This marks the first visit of its kind by a senior Saudi official to the seat of the Coptic Orthodox patriarchate. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz had previously met with Pope Tawadros during a visit to Cairo in 2016.

Prince Mohammed and Pope Tawadros tackled bilateral ties between Saudi Arabia and Egypt, stressing the role of different religions and cultures in bolstering tolerance and shunning violence, extremism and terrorism.

Prince Mohammed hailed the role of Copts in ensuring Egypt’s stability and in supporting Arab and Muslim causes.

For his part, Pope Tawadros welcomed the Saudi Crown Prince “in his second home in Egypt.”

He also praised Saudi Arabia for the development it is undergoing, saying that it will “help us defeat violence and terrorism that has plagued our region.”

He revealed that Prince Mohammed had invited him to pay a visit to the Kingdom.

The Saudi royal’s visit to the Coptic cathedral was widely welcomed among Coptic and political circles in Egypt.

Father Boulos Halim, official spokesman for the cathedral, told Asharq Al-Awsat: “The meeting demonstrates the values of tolerance and love that bind Saudi Arabia and Egypt.”

He highlighted its significance in the confrontation against extremism in the region.

Prince Mohammed embarked on Sunday on a three-day visit to Egypt.

He held talks on Sunday with President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi and toured on Monday the Ismailiya region.

The two leaders oversaw the signing of tourism and investment agreements.