Huge fanfare has surrounded the crown prince's high-profile visit to Egypt, from his arrival at Cairo airport on Monday night.
The meeting has served as Sisi's public declaration of support for the de-facto leader of Saudi Arabia after a cloud of controversy following the alleged state-sanctioned murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, sources told The New Arab's Arabic-language service.
The president himself met the prince on the runway of Cairo'sairport in front of a crowd of photographers and reporters, where they gave each other a warm greeting ahead of the prince's stay in Egypt.
The Saudi flag was raised over various tourist sites in the Egyptian capital, in an apparent bid to drum up support for the crown prince who has suffered a recent public image disaster.
Mounting evidence of his alleged personal involvement in the journalist's murder in Istanbul last month has led to global outcry, with the crown prince turning to Arab allies for support.
Saudi media on Tuesday reported that the kingdom's flag had projected onto Giza's Great Pyramid, however the image was later found to be fake.
The two leaders held talks on Monday night, in which sources said only a few hand-picked officials were present. The talks were thought to have focused on the public fall-out following Khashoggi's killing, the Palestinian issue, and relations with Israel.According to sources, Sisi has ordered all pro-regime media not to publish any stories on rumours of bin Salman's alleged fall from grace following the journalist's murder.
Close ties with the oil-rich kingdom are vital for Egypt both diplomatically and economically, with the crown prince poised to agree financial aid deals with Egypt in exchange for a public show of support, according to a diplomatic source.
The second is expected to go towards and improving water infrastructure, including drilling wells and importing water pumps for groundwater in the Sinai. The Egyptian ministry for irrigation has already announced it is seeking $100m in loans from the Saudi Fund for Development in order to finance this project.
In addition to bin Salman's recent tour of close allies - the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and Tunisia - to show his support from governments in the region, the crown prince was also awarded Bahrain's highest order by King Hamad al-Khalifa.
Tunisia’s president 'welcomed' Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who arrived Tuesday evening in the capital Tunis amid protests against his visit, Anadolu Agency reported.
Beji Caid Essebsi met bin Salman for bilateral talks on the economy, security and military cooperation, the Tunisian Presidency said in a press release.
They also discussed preparations for the 30th ordinary session of the Arab League to be held in Tunisia in March 2019.
"I felt honored when the crown prince told me 'I'm your son'. I feel honored to meet him as well," Essebsi told the local press after their meeting.
He said the visit will be beneficial for bilateral relations
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