Huge Saudi investments to be announced after MBS’s visit to Egypt: SEBC

CAIRO – 27 November 2018: Head of the Saudi-Egyptian Business Council Abdullah bin Mahfouz said that huge Saudi investments would be announced following Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the North African country.

The Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman left Cairo Tuesday, after a two-day visit. He was received by the Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, where the two officials held bilateral talks to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relations between the two states.

In an interview with al-Riyadh newspaper published on Tuesday, Mahfouz said, we are optimistic that this visit would result in the announcement of huge Saudi investments, especially by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which has studied many investment opportunities in Egypt.

Many businessmen are also very keen to invest in the projects of Egypt’s New Administrative Capital, the New el-Alamein City, and the October Oasis project at Giza’s 6th of October City as well as the privatization projects announced by the Egyptian government, Mahfouz said.

The Saudi businessmen see Egypt as the second main market, after Saudi Arabia, and consider Egypt as a center for exportation to the the African and Asian continents, Mahfouz said. He also asserted that Egypt’s Disney Land was among the largest projects executed by Saudi businessmen in Egypt in partnership with US investors, at a total cost of $3.3 billion.

Mahfouz also praised the relations between the two countries which he described as strong and aiming at the same target. He said that the visit of the Crown Prince to Egypt will help achieve the vision of the two governments to increase the volume of trade exchange between them and also to strengthen their economy.

He added that the visit will also contribute to accelerating the implementation of all previous economic agreements signed between the two countries with an investment value of over $16 billion, including the establishment of a Saudi-Egyptian fund which aims at sending Saudi investments to development projects in the Egyptian governorates.

Mahfouz said that the Saudi government is supporting the digital transformation of the electronic trade between the two countries, adding that the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia is studying carrying out giant projects in Egypt in partnership with the Egyptian government and the private sector of the two countries.

The Saudi official revealed that new agreements are expected to be signed between the governments of both countries which aim at encouraging Saudi investments in Egypt and enhancing joint cooperation between Egypt’s General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, and the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority.

Mahfouz pointed out that Saudi project of Neom is the future project for both countries, as part of it is located inside Egyptian territory. He added that the Saudi government has signed several joint investment agreements with the aim of developing Egyptian lands in southern Sinai to be part of the Neom project.

He also said that Saudi Arabia plans to establish tourist attraction projects in the Red Sea, adding that the Sinai development program includes 12 financing agreements for projects by the Saudi Fund for Development, including the establishment of King Salman bin Abdul Aziz University in South Sinai’s Al-Tor, and the construction of 9 housing compounds distributed over different areas in Sinai.

The Saudi crown prince arrived in Cairo Nov. 26 for a two-day visit, as his second visit to the country since he assumed the crown prince post in June, 2017. In March 2018, he paid a three-day visit to Cairo and concluded a flurry of bilateral agreements involving billions of dollars in investment projects.