The leaders of Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates met on Monday, a day ahead of a five-country summit in the Egyptian coastal city of New Alamein, around 150 miles northwest of the capital Cairo. During the meeting, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi expressed his country’s appreciation for the close historical bonds that united Arab countries, Presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement. The five leaders – el- Sisi, Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Jordanian King Abdullah II, and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan – exchanged views on enhancing relations and cooperation in all areas. The Emirati president arrived on Sunday, and joined el-Sisi in welcoming the other three leaders on Monday. The summit on Tuesday will focus on reinforcing efforts to integrate the economies of the five Arab states.
New Alamein, the setting of the summit, is a new city of high-rise residential and office towers, hotels and other tourist facilities, a “city of culture and arts,” and three universities, along a strip of the Mediterranean coast. The el-Sisi government inaugurated the mega-project in 2018.