Is Saudi Arabia abandoning the Sisi regime?

 Arab and international media reported that Saudi writer Turki Al-Hamad, who is close to decision-making circles in his country, attacked the Egyptian regime's policies via a series of tweets he posted on his Twitter account.

The writer wondered about the current situation in Egypt – after comparing it to its past – posing questions about unemployment, economic crises, and social dilemmas, and a country rich enough to give loans to countries, but not a prisoner of the IMF. A country such as that had "its neck tied to every aid from here or there, and it is the land of milk and honey," he said.

Al-Hamad elucidated the situation in Egypt, the positing main issue of the Army's ascendancy over the state and economy, preventing any action from passing without their approval and favoring key figures within the Army. Eruditely criticizing the bureaucratic resistance to change, he noted that this was stopping any effective investment activity despite all the opportunities available in Egypt. His stark words caused an uproar throughout many newspapers and public outlets - it was even on CNN that I first heard about it, a surprising development given his stance as a scholar who is supportive of his nation.

Turki Al-Hamad recently provoked a storm when he unleashed a fierce attack on Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and the Egyptian Army. It had been preceded by another attack about six months prior, this time against Imad Al-Din Adeeb and his article: "Egypt: Who compensates for the painful bill for the Russian-Ukrainian war?". In response to the article, the Saudi writer declared that Egypt should be able to solve its problems without relying on assistance from outside countries. It is hard to overlook the fact that Turki Al-Hamad is close with the Saudi Crown Prince and therefore his comments cannot be seen as just an individual opinion but rather as statements that are circulating in Saudi leadership circles, suggesting they have stepped back from supporting Al-Sisi's regime since 2013. The Minister of Finance's statement during the World Economic Forum in Davos affirms this suggestion, naming that support will now be conditional.

The Egyptian regime is now an obstacle to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, as the Islamist threat previously utilized as a way to frighten them has been eradicated by counter-revolutionary forces, which managed to impede the Arab Spring and subsequently suppress the rise of Islamist projects. This was followed by the pursuit and neutralization of political Islamist groups' pioneers and members. Additionally, Al-Sisi failed to meet Saudi expectations in relation to ending the war in Yemen versus the Houthis.

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbours are unlikely to give open and unconditional support, as they have done in the past. Instead, aid is expected to be conditional and focus more on buying up Egyptian assets such as companies, factories, agencies and land. This is especially true after the IMF loan was approved, with the Egyptian government making a pledge that more state assets would be liquidated with proceeds going to international and regional partners (particularly the Gulf). The injection of funds is estimated to be around $14 billion.

Egypt's Gulf state neighbors and Saudi Arabia aspire to buy Egyptian assets, especially the Army's. Although Al-Sisi has sold several assets to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, he still faces considerable difficulties in persuading the Egyptian Armed Forces to sell private assets, as the Egyptian Army, which has come in control of economic life, believes that these companies, agencies and assets belong to the Army alone, and are considered red lines which must not be crossed.

Basically, Saudi and Gulf support for Al-Sisi's regime will not be as strong as it was in the past, since the Egyptian people paid a heavy price for it in the past years. The result was a lack of freedom and a loss of food security. "Allah's Will always prevails, but most people don't know it."