“We look at Egypt as a supplement to the kingdom and also as a promising market and an exporting platform to other countries,” stated Al-Falih.
He also mentioned that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest investor in Egypt, stating that he will work with his Egyptian counterpart to grant these investments a bigger chance to double and encourage Saudi investors to expand their current investments.
Of note, this is not the first time that deposits have been converted into investments in Egypt, for example, in the UAE's $35 billion Ras El-Hekma deal, the UAE agreed to waive its $11 billion in foreign deposits in the CBE.
Saudi Arabia’s deposits at the CBE are worth $10 billion, $5,3 billion of which is reimbursable by the end of October 2026, according to the CBE.
Within the framework of the meeting, the Saudi minister discussed the important projects currently being implemented by Saudi investors, explaining the importance of expansion in these projects.
He also stated that the opportunities in Egypt are vast, but the challenges are big, underscoring that Egypt and Saudi Arabia are partners in what achieves mutual interests for the people in the two countries.
For his part, PM Madbouly stated that the Egyptian government succeeded in solving 70 percent of the problems of the Saudi Investors.
“We are eager as a government to push the bilateral relations between the two countries in all fields to new heights,” noted Madbouly.
He also stated the necessity of executing the joint investments according to the protection agreement and for workgroups to finish at a faster pace.
In parallel, the Senior Director of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) Muteb Al Shathri stated that companies affiliated with the fund have $3 billion worth of investments in Egypt.
He also pointed out the current cooperation between the PIF and The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) through the Initial Public Offering (IPO) program adopted by the Egyptian government.
Egypt looks forward to increasing Saudi investments: Minister Al-Mashat
During the meeting, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said that Egypt looks forward to increasing the Saudi investments stemming from the close bilateral relationships between the two countries.
The meeting witnessed studying ways to strengthen the joint relationships between the two countries on the level of investment in high-priority sectors, in light of Egypt’s dedication to investments in the private sector.
Al-Mashat also noted the diversity of Saudi investments in Egypt, as hundreds of Saudi companies work in vital sectors in Egypt.
Moreover, she stated that the government is looking forward to more partnerships and investments by the private sector in Egypt within the framework of the constant development of relationships between the two countries.
The minister explained that Egypt is currently focusing on developing the investment environment locally and globally for the private sector, which will increase the size of investments.
Enabling the private sector is a motive for achieving sustainable development in different sectors; it also creates job opportunities, she added.
“The government is currently working on creating a competitive economy that will attract investments, while also improving fiscal and economic performance,” stated Al-Mashat.
She also added that the new government puts human development and localizing industry as two main goals of its program, which will work on increasing investment in human capital and raising the attractiveness of local goods in international markets.
Moreover, Al-Mashat noted the efforts of the ministry alongside global partners to support the execution of structural reforms by offering financing to support the budget which will improve the business environment and encourage the private sector to increase investments.
Investment opportunities in the transportation and logistics sectors
During his meeting with Al-Falih on Thursday, the Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport Kamel El-Wazir stated that logistics is one of the most important fields that can form a big launch for fruitful collaboration between the two sides.
El-Wazir pointed out the seven international developmental comprehensive logistics corridors being executed to link production zones (industrial-agricultural-mining-services) to seaports using fast and safe transportation methods passing by dry ports and comprehensive logistic zones.
Moreover, he highlighted promising investment opportunities in all Egyptian seaports, including Sokhna and Alexandria ports.
There are also investment opportunities in sea transport and electric traction projects, on top of which are the high-speed train, the dry ports network, and the logistic zones.
This will contribute to launching the Egyptian-Saudi economic cooperation in transport, industry, and logistics. This aligns with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s direction to expand cooperation between the local and foreign private sectors, including the Saudi private sector companies.
The Saudi minister praised Egypt’s execution of megaprojects in all fields and pointed out the significant interest in investing in Egypt, either in ports or car manufacturing and renewable energy.
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