Saudi Arabia and Egypt announce Red Sea bridge

[ENT]

King Salman and President Sisi are close allies

Saudi Arabia's king has announced that a bridge linking the country to Egypt will be built over the Red Sea.
King Salman said in a statement that the bridge would boost commerce between the two allies.
He made the announcement during the second day of his visit to the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have supported Egypt with billions of dollars since President Sisi took power in 2013 following mass street protests.

Saudi Arabia regards Egypt as a crucial partner in efforts to build a bloc of friendly Sunni Muslim states as a bulwark against growing regional influence of Shia-led Iran.




King Salman's visit comes amid recent strains in the relationship, with President Sisi taking a less hardline stance against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Riyadh seeking more support from Cairo for its war against rebels in Yemen.

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said the bridge would be named after the Saudi king.

"I agreed with my brother his Excellency President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi to build a bridge connecting the two countries" the king said.

"This historic step to connect the two continents, Africa and Asia, is a qualitative transformation that will increase trade between the two continents to unprecedented levels" he added.

President Sisi said it marked "a new chapter on the road of Arab joint action".
A Red Sea bridge linking the two countries has been proposed several times before but has failed to become a reality.

Previous estimates for the bridge project suggested a cost of around $3-4bn (£2-3bn), but no further information has yet been released for the latest plan.

King Salman is currently on a five-day visit to Egypt, where he is expected to announce more trade and co-operation agreements.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt announce Red Sea bridge - BBC News

[Roobarb]

They need to get a move on with this. With oil prices at their current levels Saudi's going to run out of money in about five years time...

[Chittychangchang]

Egypt could do with a new influx of tourists now the traditional holiday makers have gone some where safer.

[HermantheGerman]

Bridge Over Troubled Water

[ENT]

Well, they had to do something practical about getting the slaves out of Egypt since Moses' parting of the Red Sea.

Now the Saudis can just herd 'em all onto trucks in Egypt and dump them off at the other end of the bridge.

Simple, economical.

[Lukey1979]

What an incredible waste of money. If they (the Idiots) ever did complete such a mammoth task, It would either be permanently gridlocked by the brainless drivers from both countries, Fall down through poor maintenance, or be blown up by Jihadists.

[ENT]

That's what I think too.

It'll have to be heavily guarded and maintained, Israel's gonna love it.
So will IS and the other mad jihadists.

The 30 mile long bridge isn't going to be built over the Red Sea proper, but across the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba from Saudi Arabia to the Southern Sinai, just north of Sharm el Sheik, a popular tourist spot for Russians and some others.

[Lukey1979]

That's what I think too.

It'll have to be heavily guarded and maintained, Israel's gonna love it.

The bridge isn't going to be built over the Red Sea proper, but across the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba .

That sounds considerably more manageable.

[ENT]

Not a bad location for a bridge, there's a long chain of islands, reefs and sand-bars stretching along the proposed route of the new bridge, quite practical, feasible and easily maintained, IMO.

On the other hand, are any ships wanting to pass under the bridge to get to Israel going to be guaranteed safe passage?

Bridges are always vulnerable in war, a bit like aircraft carriers, big targets needing only one direct hit at a weak point to bring everything to a stop.

[Neverna]

More Saudi tourists for Sharm and Dahab. And easier access both ways for gun-toting nutters / jihadists, etc.

Do Israeli tourists still go there these days?

[ENT]

At a guess, no, especially after the Russian airliner got downed there and the local presence of IS affiliated groups.

[Roobarb]

Actually the Saudi's do have experience in doing this sort of thing. The King Fahd causeway linking Saudi and Bahrain is 25 kms long and was built by the Dutch to what seems to have been a very good, international standard.

As anyone who has been in there on a weekend knows, Bahrain is a place where a lot of Saudi men go to let off steam. I suspect the realisation that Sharm is a similar sort of distance away on the other coast will not be lost on a regime that recognises that on the one hand they feel the pressure to introduce social reforms, yet on the other their legitimacy is largely dependant on maintaining the status quo.

Allowing more to enjoy freedoms by letting them have access to the playgrounds overseas helps kick the national reform can a little further down the road.

[ENT]

A kind of 'not in my backyard' angle, I guess.

[Neverna]

Saudis have been going to Egypt for holidays for quite some time. I guess the new bridge will make that part of Sinai more accessible.

[harrybarracuda]

Saudis go to Egypt for shagging, so expect a big influx of big-arsed Moroccan and Tunisian slappers into Sharm.

[Black Heart]

Saudis go to Egypt for shagging, so expect a big influx of big-arsed Moroccan and Tunisian slappers into Sharm.

Searching for flight tickets.

[ENT]

They can move an army across quick now.

I think that Sharm el Sheik'll turn into the biggest brothel, casino, and boot-legging centre of Arabia or a mosque.

Saudi's first direct land access to Egypt since 1946 .

Yup, all roads lead to Sharm el Sheik.

[Neverna]

They can move an army across quick now.

I was thinking that, too. But which way will be needed? Both perhaps.

[ENT]

The road to Suez route that Mohammed took to get over to Africa, I suppose.

What a jihad.

[Dragonfly94]

will women be allowed to drive over it?

[ENT]

I doubt it.

Top Saudi cleric reiterates support for ban on women driving
Published April 10, 2016

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia's most senior cleric has reiterated his support for the kingdom's ban on women driving, arguing it is "a dangerous matter that exposes women to evil."

The kingdom adheres to an ultraconservative interpretation of Islam and is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive. Though no laws ban women from driving in Saudi Arabia, authorities do not issue them licenses.

Women's rights activists have faced detention for trying to defy the ban.

Speaking on the religious satellite channel al-Majd, Mufti Sheikh Abulaziz Al Sheikh said men with "weak spirits" who are "obsessed with women" could cause female drivers harm and that family members would not know the whereabouts of women. His comments were published Sunday on the state-linked Sabq news website.

Top Saudi cleric reiterates support for ban on women driving | Fox News



Out come the usual misogynist reasons for banning any female activities that the insecure males feel threatened by. Also, the Egyptians will come under the soon to be imposed Saudi yoke too, which is the real reason for the bridge in the first place.

So it's gonna get hotter in Egypt once that bridge is finished, as Saudi's got more guns than Egypt has, and a new Saudi vassal state may soon emerge as a result, after a hell of a lot more of civil unrest in Egypt.
The resulting state failure of Egypt will become the main excuse for a takeover by the Saudis, who'll go all out to impose their brand of Sunni extremism upon the hapless Egyptians, Xtians and all.

Egyptians, who hate the Saudis are another second class bunch in Saudi,.. their slaves, traditionally, so it's going to be an interesting time in the sand-pit and particularly at the bridge.

It's all just another front for a Sunni jihad, IMO.

Who knows, the bridge might get blown up ,in time.

[harrybarracuda]

Coincidence?

The Egyptian government has handed over the ownership of disputed Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia amid strong objection from several former officials as well as the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Egyptian cabinet announced in a statement released on Saturday that both islands fall within the territorial waters of Saudi Arabia as codified in the maritime border agreement signed between Cairo and Riyadh the previous day.

Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail inked the border demarcation accord with the Saudi side in the presence of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in the Federal Presidential Palace, eastern Cairo.

http://presstv.com/Detail/2016/04/10...-Saudi-Arabia/

[ENT]

Another step towards Saudi domination of Egypt via the proposed new bridge is this latest bit of shenanigans;

Saudi-Egyptian deal on Red Sea islands sparks anger
5 hours ago


Tiran IslandImage copyrightHady Messaddy

Tiran is the larger of the two islands which have been ceded to Saudi Arabia

Egypt's decision to cede sovereignty over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia has sparked anger from some commentators online.
The move comes while Saudi King Salman is on a rare visit to Egypt during which he has announced plans for Saudi aid and investment for Egypt.

Some Egyptians have been expressing outrage at the decision on the islands.
But some Saudis have taken the opportunity to boast of their country's new possessions.




An Egyptian government spokesman told the ONTV channel the decision on the islands had come after 11 rounds of negotiations by experts from the two countries over more than six years, the Associated Press reports.

But some Egyptians were quick to see the deal as a sign of the country's weakness, saying Egypt had effectively sold the islands.

Well-known satirist Bassem Youssef mocked the deal in a tweet suggesting President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi was selling the islands to the highest bidder in the style of someone conducting an auction.

Tweet by Bassem Youssef reading: "Roll up, roll up, the island is for a billion, the pyramid for two, and a couple of statues thrown in for free"

Other users commented that the giving up of the islands had led to a loss of legitimacy for President Sisi, and that it may even be in contravention of the constitution.

Memes also appeared mocking the perceived blind loyalty of supporters of President Sisi, as opposed to the criticism levelled at previous Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.
One joke circulated on Facebook goes that in answer to the question of whether the islands are Egyptian, "if Morsi sold them, they're Egyptian, but if Sisi sold them, they're Saudi".

Some Saudi tweeters, in contrast, seemed to relish the opportunity to needle their Egyptian counterparts.

Saudi Tweeter @_naiif10 mockingly used an Arabic hashtag meaning "Tiran and Sanafir are Egyptian" and asked: "Will you keep quiet or shall we move the pyramids to the Empty Quarter [in Saudi Arabia]?

While another Saudi user, @QG_7H, posted several idyllic pictures of the islands and said "Now I'm planning a visit to our islands in the north, Tiran and Sanafir... Lovely views".

Saudi-Egyptian deal on Red Sea islands sparks anger - BBCNews



Lovely, just as I speculated, the whole bridge deal, and now the island, is going to become a pain in the a*se for Egypt.

Tiran Island's well placed for a Saudi military base to guard all traffic through into the Gulf of Aqba, helped along by US, needless to say.

Egypt's had largely good relationships with Israel in recent years, but allowing Saudi to control access to Eilat is going to be a problem.

Saudi's recent ambitious moves, attacking Yemen, the proposed new bridge and now the island of Tiran ceded to Saudi could only be done if USA approves, being Saudi's closest ally an largest arms supplier,

The whole deal isn't being made for any innocent reason such as tourism, it's for the money, jihad and strategic advantage in war.

Tiran Island is an ancient centre for the pre-Mohammedan Baalist stone worshippers that Mohammed first raised his sword of Islam against, so you can bet that the first thing those sand crabs will do is to destroy all evidence of pre-history there.

More knowledge to be lost under Islam.

[VocalNeal]

Egypt could do with a new influx of tourists now the traditional holiday makers have gone some where safer.

My parents spent January on the Red Sea in Egypt. Just like they do every year. No mention of safety concerned from them.

[harrybarracuda]

Another step towards Saudi domination of Egypt via the proposed new bridge is this latest bit of shenanigans;

The ungrateful bastards.

They'd be fucked if it wasn't for Saudi money.