CAIRO — Despite the strain in Egyptian-Saudi ties since last October, on Jan. 26, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi approved King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud 's $1.5 billion development plan for the Sinai Peninsula. On Jan. 21, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed quoted an Egyptian diplomatic source as saying that Egypt asked Saudi diplomats to mediate to end Sudanese demands for direct talks on the annexation of the disputed Halayeb and Shalateen areas.
The Egyptian-Saudi tension ramped up Oct. 9 after Egypt voted at the UN Security Council in favor of a Russian draft resolution to end the war in Syria, and Saudi Arabia's permanent representative to the UN Abdullah al-Mouallimi expressed resentment. Matters escalated Oct. 10 as Saudi Aramco informed the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation that oil shipments to Egypt were suspended. Aramco told Egypt Nov. 8 that the halt was indefinite, which observers perceived as a Saudi sanction on Egypt for its vote.
On Jan. 16, the Supreme Administrative Court invalidated the maritime border demarcation agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, denying Saudi Arabia sovereignty over the islands of Tiran and Sanafir in the Red Sea.
Signs of a breakthrough appeared in January, with Sisi signing an agreement for a $1.5 billion loan from Saudi Arabia to fund development projects in Sinai. The agreement is known as Salman's development plan for Sinai, the most prominent of which is the establishment of King Salman University.
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