RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund will significantly increase its funding in Egypt, with plans to convert its deposits into direct investment following a key meeting between officials from both countries.
The discussions, held in New Alamein City, Egypt, focused on strengthening economic ties and expanding joint investment initiatives.
During the two-day visit, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih emphasized his commitment to improving trade relations with Egypt.
According to a social media post by the Egyptian Prime Minister's Office, Al-Falih said: “We have a directive to increase investments from the Saudi Public Investment Fund in Egypt, and a plan to convert our deposits in Egypt into investments.”
He added: “We see Egypt as a complement to the Kingdom and also as a promising market and an important platform for exports to the countries of the region.”
Al-Falih also indicated plans to work with the Egyptian investment minister to “give these investments a greater chance to double and encourage Saudi investors to expand their existing investments.”
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly reaffirmed the government's commitment to promoting a favorable environment for Saudi investment.
“We are eager to follow up everything related to Saudi investments in Egypt, and I call for the facilitation of all procedures related to them, which helps to attract more new investments, which is a general trend of the Egyptian government during this phase,” he said. .
Economic relations between the two nations have recently seen remarkable growth, with Saudi investment in Egypt reaching $32 billion by September 2023. Egyptian companies also secured a significant share of the investment licenses issued by the Saudi Ministry of Investment, taking 30 percent of the 3,157 licenses were granted during the first quarter of the year.
The meeting also reviewed the Agreement on the Protection and Promotion of Mutual Financing, which was initiated last year to facilitate and secure investments made by each country in the other's territory.
Stressing the importance of this agreement, Madbouly noted: “We have made significant progress in agreeing on most of the clauses of the agreement, and there are some points that are currently being discussed between the two parties.” He assured, “I personally ensure close monitoring of this important file,” adding that the Egyptian government has resolved 70 percent of the challenges faced by Saudi investors.
Al-Falih acknowledged the significant investment opportunities in Egypt while acknowledging the challenges. He reiterated the Saudi leadership's directive to cooperate with Egypt for mutual benefits, saying: “We will work together to solve the remaining problems, and at the same time we will work to attract new investments.”
Muteb Al-Shathri, a representative of the PIF, confirmed that the fund's investments in Egypt currently amount to about $3 billion. He noted the ongoing cooperation between the Saudi fund and the Egyptian sovereign wealth fund through the Egyptian government's offering program.
Hassan El-Khatib, Egypt's newly appointed investment minister, reiterated the commitment to nurture existing Saudi investments in Egypt.
“We currently prioritize attracting investments from the private sector, and Egypt has promising investment opportunities, which confirms Egypt's pride in its partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its willingness to achieve integration with the Kingdom in several areas such as trade, industry, tourism, and others, he said.
