Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy will on Wednesday seek to strengthen ties with Saudi Arabia during a visit to the kingdom, his first foreign trip since being sworn in.
Mr. Morsy will hold talks with King Abdullah and senior officials in the oil-producing monarchy, which had close links with Hosni Mubarak, who was forced to step down in a popular uprising last year.
The Saudi monarchy fears that Arab Spring uprisings that ousted leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen could spark a revolt by the Shiite minority in the kingdom.
Egyptian-Saudi ties hit a low in May, when the kingdom recalled its envoy to Cairo after demonstrations outside its embassy to protest the detention in Saudi Arabia of an Egyptian man on suspicion of drug smuggling and reported abuses of Egyptians working there.
An estimated 1.5 million Egyptians work in Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Morsy’s visit comes a day after Egypt’s highest court ruled against his order to reinstate the dissolved lower house of parliament.
The Supreme Constitutional Court in June annulled the chamber, citing election flaws.
Mr. Morsy, who took office last month, decreed the house to reconvene and called for an early parliamentary election 60 days after a constitution is approved in a referendum.
