How a joke about Sisi’s fridge has strained Cairo-Riyadh ties
The careless slip of a Saudi tongue was enough to anger Egyptians and end the term of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's secretary-general as Riyadh-Cairo relations deteriorate over regional alliances and halted oil shipments.
Saudi Shura Council head Abdullah Al-Sheikh’s unannounced visit to Cairo on Nov. 3 was apparently Riyadh’s positive response to Gulf mediation efforts to calm tensions between Egypt and Saudi Arabia and to keep their feud out of the media.
Al-Sheikh’s visit was less than a week after the Oct. 31 announcement that Iyad Madani, the Saudi secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), an international organization of 57 Islamic states, had submitted his resignation citing health reasons.
Madani resigned one day after Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry gave a speech to the Egyptian parliament in which he stated that Egypt, an OIC founding member, has submitted an official memorandum to the OIC condemning Madani's remarks about Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Shukri said, “Madani’s remarks confirm he is no longer qualified to perform his diplomatic and political duties as the organization’s secretary-general. The Egyptian government will follow up on the matter to meet the popular demands.”
