Middle East leaders began to arrive in Riyadh on Friday for a regional summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is visiting Saudi Arabia to boost ties.
The inaugural China-Arab summit is set to take place in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Friday.
First to arrive was Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and his delegation, who were welcomed at King Khalid International Airport by Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, Deputy Governor of Riyadh.
Next was Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal, Sudan’s Sovereign Council head Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani.
Tunisia’s President Kais Saied and Libya’s Presidency Council head Mohammed Al Menfi also landed in Riyadh. Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch and Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati are expected to also attend the summit.
Mr Xi is expected to stay in Saudi Arabia until Saturday and will meet GCC leaders at the China-Gulf conference. He said he was “happy” to visit the kingdom for the first time since 2016 and extended his “sincere greetings and best wishes” to the government and people.
“King Salman and I are leading bilateral relations to achieve great development and have strongly contributed to the promotion of peace, stability, prosperity and development in the region,” he said.
The Chinese leader said he was looking forward to the coming summits. The visit is Mr Xi's third overseas trip since the outbreak of Covid-19, which has heavily affected China's international trade due to strict entry requirements to the country.
The measures are part of a wider policy known as “zero-Covid”, which has involved sweeping, last-minute lockdowns that, in some cases, have lasted weeks and even months.
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