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King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia arrived in Abu Dhabi on Saturday on an official visit to the UAE.

King Salman was received by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

An official welcoming ceremony was held for King Salman where the national anthem of Saudi Arabia was played and a 21-gun salute fired.

King Salman shook hands with a number of Shaikhs and senior officials while Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid and Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed shook hands with King Salman’s accompanying delegation.

Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid and Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed welcomed King Salman to his “second home”, the UAE, and expressed their happiness at his visit. In a series of tweets, Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid expressed his delight at King Salman’s visit to the UAE, “I was honoured today alongside my brother Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed to welcome King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia to his country the UAE. You are most welcome King Salman,” he tweeted.

“The UAE-Saudi Arabia relations are deep-rooted and surpass traditional diplomatic relations. They are like one body. We pray to Allah Almighty to protect this body,” Shaikh Mohammad tweeted. King Salman was accompanied by ministers, top officials and a large media contingent.

Also present at the welcoming ceremony were Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region; Dr Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi, Speaker of Federal National Council; Shaikh Tahnoun Bin Mohammad Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Ruler`s Representative in the Eastern Region; Shaikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council; and Lt-General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.

Deep-rooted ties

Meanwhile, Dr Mohammad Bin Abdul Rahman Al Bishr, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the UAE, in an interview with the state news agency WAM, said the UAE-Saudi fraternal relations are deep rooted and are going through the brightest period in history.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia have so many things in common: they share same values, traditions, religion and a lot of inherited cultures and noble norms, the ambassador said.

He added that the UAE-Saudi relations are experiencing the brightest and most prosperous age of all times thanks to the directives of the wise leadership of both countries which are in line with their firm principles that created such exceptional and deep-rooted relations. Al Bahr noted that the cooperation between the UAE and Saudi Arabia is based on goodwill, unity, solidarity and destiny. Both countries reject terrorism and extremism, hold fast to the right Islamic approach and comply with laws and international norms. They also contribute to establishing peace and love all around the world, he added.