Saudi Arabia’s king has announced that a bridge linking the country to Egypt will be built over the Red Sea. King Salman said that the bridge would boost commerce between the two allies.

• 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.
• Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said the bridge would be named after the Saudi king.
• A Red Sea bridge linking the two countries has been proposed several times before but has failed to become a reality.
• The plan to build a joint bridge over the Red Sea at the entrance of the Gulf of Aqaba has been in the pipeline for several years. 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.