Combined images of (From R to L) Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty and Saudi Minister of Commerce Majid Al-Qasabi.
According to the Egyptian foreign ministry, this came during a video conference meeting between FM Abdelatty, who is on an official visit to Riyadh, and Al-Qasabi who was out of the country and unable to meet in person.
The Egyptian foreign minister praised the increase in non-oil trade between the two countries in recent years during the meeting.
He affirmed Egypt’s keenness to maintain coordination and cooperation to resolve any obstacles that might affect bilateral trade, mutual exports, and investor issues between the two countries..
Egypt’s top diplomat outlined to the Saudi commerce minister the institutional reforms in Egypt to simplify bureaucratic procedures for investors.
FM Abdelatty expressed Egypt's eagerness to activate the joint Egyptian-Saudi Business Forum at the earliest opportunity, to enhance trade and investment cooperation between business people in both countries.
He noted the potential for Egyptian construction companies to participate in infrastructure projects in Saudi Arabia.
Abdelatty also congratulated Minister Al-Qasabi on the Kingdom’s successful bids to host "Expo 2030" and the FIFA World Cup 2034.
He highlighted the mutual commitment to enhancing and supporting institutional relations between the two countries.
Abdelatty proposed to AL-Qasabi aligning Egypt’s 2030 vision with Saudi’s 2030 vision so that the projects are mutually reinforcing between both states, especially in the fields of maritime transport, urban planning and development, special economic zones, free zones, the industrial sector, and localizing the production of technology.
For his part, Al-Qasabi affirmed the deep fraternal ties and historical bonds between Egypt and Saudi Arabia pointing to the convergence of political visions and coordination.
The Saudi commerce minister noted the shared understanding between Cairo and Riyadh regarding the need to advance bilateral cooperation in investment and trade between both countries.
Wider prospects
Meanwhile, in New Alamein City, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly held a meeting to discuss the provisions of the Egyptian-Saudi Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement.
The prime minister emphasized that this meeting aimed to follow up on the ongoing steps to finalize the agreement, considering its importance in enhancing and advancing the frameworks of cooperation between Egypt and Saudi Arabia and increasing joint investments by building on the distinguished fraternal relations between the two nations' leaderships, governments, and peoples.
According to the Egyptian cabinet, this agreement would contribute to attracting more investments in priority areas. It also includes measures related to supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and various other areas to be agreed upon, ensuring the protection of these investments and achieving the desired developmental goals in both Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development reported earlier this year that the trade exchange volume between Egypt and Saudi Arabia reached $32 billion in the fiscal year 2022-2023.
Saudi investments in Egypt reached $6.3 billion in 7,444 projects in sectors such as industry, construction, tourism, services, and telecommunications, among others while Egyptian investments in Saudi Arabia reached $1.6 billion across 2,027 projects in manufacturing, retail, and construction sectors in November 2023 according to the Egyptian official statements.
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