DHAKA: Egypt’s interim president Adly Mansour won fresh support from King Abdullah for his country’s fight against ‘terrorism’ as he Tuesday wound up a trip to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi official news agency SPA said, reports TDS.

Mansour arrived Monday in the Red Sea city of Jeddah on his first official trip abroad since he replaced the Islamist Mohamed Mursi after the army deposed him on July 3.

Abdullah, who was the first leader to welcome Mursi’s ouster, affirmed the kingdom’s support to Egypt against ‘terrorism, deviance, and sedition, and against whoever tries to interfere in Egypt’s internal affairs’, SPA quoted him as saying.

Saudi Arabia had long seen Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood as a threat and along with other Gulf monarchies – excluding Qatar which supports the movement – quickly pledged financial aid to Egypt’s new military-installed authorities.

Mansour said he had come to Saudi Arabia to ‘thank’ the monarch.

‘Visiting the kingdom was a must, as I had to thank the custodian of the two holy mosques (King Abdullah) personally on his supportive stances that comforted the Egyptians,’ Mansour told the Saudi daily Asharq al-Awsat.

Riyadh subsequently announced an aid package of $5 billion to Egypt.

BDST: 1644 HRS, OCT 08, 2013
RoR/GCP