During his visit to Cairo, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi agreed to strengthen trade and investment cooperation.
Bandar Al-Amiri, the head of the Saudi-Egyptian Business Council, reported to Reuters that the private sectors of Saudi Arabia and Egypt are set to inject a total of $15 billion into the Egyptian economy.
This influx of investments follows the signing of a bilateral agreement on Tuesday in Cairo, aimed at encouraging and protecting mutual investments between the two countries.
Al-Amiri highlighted that the investments would span several sectors including renewable energy, industry, real estate development, tourism, and technology.
“These agreements are new and were pending the finalization of the investment protection accord between the two nations,” Al-Amiri told Reuters.
The commitment to bolster trade and investment ties was solidified during Prince Mohammed’s visit on Tuesday, as Egypt seeks to attract substantial investments to tackle a longstanding economic crisis.
Following the news of the Saudi Crown Prince’s visit, Egypt’s dollar-denominated sovereign bonds experienced a notable rise on Tuesday, according to Tradeweb data.
Long-term bonds saw the most significant gains, with the 2059 bonds climbing by 1.71 cents to 77.78 cents on the dollar by 1146 GMT. Diplomatic sources told Reuters that the Crown Prince’s trip was primarily focused on trade and investment discussions, although issues in Lebanon and Gaza were also on the agenda.
Gulf investments, including a major $35 billion deal with Abu Dhabi’s holding company ADQ, one of the sovereign wealth funds, have played a crucial role in supporting Egypt amid last year’s debt crisis.
The Egyptian Cabinet reported that Prince Mohammed directed the Saudi Public Investment Fund to allocate an additional $5 billion for investments in Egypt.
