Egypt, KSA renews marine transport agreement through Suez Canal

CAIRO – 12 March 2018: Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed a renewal of the memorandum to support marine transport between the two states across the Suez Canal, an official statement said Monday.

The memorandum was signed by Chairman of Suez Canal Authority Mohab Mamesh, and CEO of Saudi National Shipping Company Abdullah Bin Ali Al-Debaikhi.

It states that Bahri Company transfers all the kingdom’s needs through the Suez Canal, by using all kinds of ships that are affiliated to the company.

Bahri is established as the national shipping carrier of Saudi Arabia, formerly known as (NSCSA) – which was created by a Royal Decree as a public company in 1978, with 22 percent ownership stake held by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of the Saudi government, 20 percent by Saudi Aramco Development Company (SADCO), and the remaining shares listed on the Saudi stock exchange (Tadawul).

The statement added that the agreement also includes the study of the establishment of a joint Egyptian-Saudi shipping company represented by the Suez Canal Authority and the Saudi National Maritime Transport Company.

The joint company will exist in Egypt to work on transferring Egypt’s different kinds of needs, as well as raw materials and products received and exported for the development project of the Suez Canal.

The agreement also includes the study of another joint company between the two states of the integrated marine’s service for ships crossing the Suez Canal.

This agreement comes as a result of Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman’s visit to Egypt, with the purpose to strengthen the relations between Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

In his first official trip, Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman visited Egypt for three days, accompanied by a number of high-profile Saudi officials. The visit targeted cultural, economic, arts and religious sides.

The chairman of the Suez Canal Authority hoped for integration between the Neom project and the Suez Canal region, during his visit to Egypt.

Mamesh added that the integration between the Suez Canal and Neom will be the direction of trade from all over the world.