CAIRO: Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Egypt met on Monday with the Freedom and Justice Party chairman Mohamed Morsy and Saad Katatni, the Muslim Brotherhood's FJP Secretary-General. The meeting was aimed at strengthening relations between the two countries and looked at political and economic developments, the Saudi embassy said. “We are hopeful that Saudi Arabia can have a greater role in assisting political, economic and social development in Egypt,” an embassy official told Bikyamasr.com. Ambassador Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz Al-Qattan pointed out that Saudi businessmen have many investments in Egypt, but it is expected that these investments will increase significantly. He said his country is prepared “to play a significant role in Egyptian development, especially after the end of the country's critical transitional phase.” Morsy was reported to have welcomed the ambassador warmly and expressed his hope that Saudi Arabia and Egypt can cooperate in the future, Egyptian newspaper al-Youm al-Saba'a reported. Katatni said the party is looking to develop relations with the Arab world and take advantage of mutual natural and human resources. But the meeting has sparked fears in the country that the conservative Saudi government is attempting to get more involved in the political make-up of the country and push it toward an Islamic leaning. “I am definitely worried about the future of Egypt if Saudi is getting involved with the Muslim Brotherhood,” said Heba Waked, a 21-year-old Cairo University student and activist. She said that the Brotherhood should be wary of accepting foreign support “because it is not what Egypt needs right now. “We need a political future free from foreign governments attempting to create their own image of what Egypt should look like,” she told Bikyamasr.com. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest political group, launched the FJP following January's uprising and has said it will contest the November 21 parliamentary elections. It has also said it will not field a candidate for next year's presidential race. BM
