CAIRO —
Saudi and
Egyptian companies signed agreements worth a total of $7.7 billion
during a visit to Cairo by the Saudi crown prince, state media in both
countries said.
اضافة اعلان
The deals were
related to “infrastructure, logistical services, port management, agrifoods,
the pharmaceutical industry, fossil fuels and renewable energy, and
cybersecurity” and were worth $7.7 billion, Egyptian daily Al-Ahram said.
“Fourteen investment agreements worth more than 29
billion riyals ($7.7 billion) were signed between a group of leading Saudi
companies in various economic activities and several Egyptian companies and
authorities,” Saudi state-run Al-Ekhbariya said on Twitter.
The Saudi
investment ministry said the agreements aimed to “enhance investment and
economic cooperation between the two countries”.
Trade between Egypt
and the kingdom leapt more than 62 percent last year compared with 2020,
reaching $9.1 billion, according to official Egyptian figures.
Egyptians working
in Saudi Arabia are an important source of foreign currency, with transfers
worth more than $11 billion in the 2020–2021 financial year, up more than 17
percent compared with the previous year.
Egypt, which is struggling with inflation, huge
infrastructure spending bills and a currency devaluation, is in talks with the
International Monetary Fund for a new loan.
The Arab world’s
most populous country, Egypt has a state budget of around $160 billion and is
grappling with public debt reaching around 90 percent of gross domestic
product.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman began a two-day visit to Egypt on Monday evening, kicking
off a regional tour extending to Jordan and Turkey.
The trip comes
weeks ahead of a visit to Saudi Arabia by US President Joe Biden, whose
administration has lately sought to repair ties with Riyadh, despite him
earlier calling the kingdom a “pariah” state.
Prince Mohammed’s
visit to Turkey on Wednesday will be his first visit since 2018. Turkey’s
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in late April visited Saudi Arabia.
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