President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi meets Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud in Neom. Photo: Egyptian Presidency
This came during a meeting between the Egyptian president and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman in Neom, Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
Earlier on Thursday, the Saudi Crown Prince received President El-Sisi at NEOM Bay Airport at the start of his official visit to the Kingdom.
According to the Egyptian presidency, both leaders agreed during their talks on rejecting any attempts to displace Palestinian people from their land or to reimpose Israeli military occupation on the Gaza Strip.
They also reviewed Egypt’s efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza in coordination with various parties, stressing the need to accelerate the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to the strip, and secure the exchange of captives and detainees.
El-Sisi and bin Salman further emphasised the necessity of halting Israeli violations against the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The meeting between the two leaders comes amid intensive Egyptian and Qatari efforts to secure a ceasefire in the 22-month-old Gaza war between Israel and Hamas.
It also comes as Tel Aviv pounds north Gaza, as it gears up to launch a major assault on Gaza City amid plans to reoccupy the entire strip.
Cairo and Doha have intensified their mediation with various international partners to halt the war in Gaza, deliver urgent humanitarian aid to the strip, and prevent further deterioration of the catastrophic situation as famine grips 2.3 million Palestinians in the strip.
On Tuesday, Cairo and Doha confirmed that Hamas has agreed to a 60-day truce proposal that was previously agreed to by Israel. Tel Aviv has not responded yet.
In late July, Saudi Arabia and France co-chaired a high-level UN conference in New York in an attempt to revive stalled talks on a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.
Egyptian-Saudi ties
According to the Egyptian presidency, both sides addressed bilateral cooperation, where they affirmed the importance of strengthening joint investments and expediting the launch of the Egyptian-Saudi Higher Coordination Council as a comprehensive framework for advancing ties at all levels.
El-Sisi and bin Salman also agreed to initiate further partnerships in the fields of industrial integration, localisation of technological industries, transportation, new and renewable energy, and urban development.
During the meeting, the Egyptian president expressed profound appreciation and deep gratitude for the warm welcome and generous hospitality he received during his visit, praising the close historical bonds linking Cairo and Riyadh.
He also expressed keenness to continue building on the qualitative leap achieved in bilateral relations, in a way that contributes to strengthening economic and trade partnership and aligns with the aspirations of both peoples.
In turn, the Saudi Crown Prince expressed the Kingdom’s pride in its deep-rooted fraternal ties with Egypt, reaffirming his keenness to enhance frameworks of bilateral cooperation across various fields, and elevate them towards broader and more sustainable horizons that serve the interests of both nations.
In 2024, trade between Egypt and Saudi Arabia grew by 18.8 percent to $6.5 billion, up from $5.5 billion in 2023, according to Head of the Egyptian Commercial Office in Saudi Arabia Osama Basha .
He also noted that Saudi investments in Egypt reached $37 billion across more than 6,830 companies, while Egyptian investments in Saudi Arabia totalled $5 billion through 805 companies.
Egypt now ranks seventh among Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partners, Basha said.
Both leaders also discussed the latest regional and international developments.
According to the Egyptian presidency, El-Sisi and bin Salman stressed the importance of supporting the stability of the region’s states, preserving their territorial integrity, and safeguarding their national institutions.
The Egyptian president and Saudi Crown Prince affirmed their determination to continue coordination and consultations amid the rapid developments in the Middle East.
For his part, bin Salman praised Egypt’s pivotal role in consolidating regional security, stability, and development, based on its historical influence and strategic position.
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