CAIRO – 21 June 2022: Egypt and Saudi Arabia have stressed their determination to increase investment cooperation and trade exchange in the coming period.
In a final statement at the end of a visit paid by Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman to Egypt, the two countries pressed for stimulating partnership between their private sectors and creating an attractive investment environment in various fields, including tourism, energy, healthcare, transport, logistics, ICT, real estate and agriculture.
The final statement shed light on official talks held between President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Prince Mohamed bin Salman, which reflected close relations between the two countries.
During the talks, the two leaders praised high-level relations enjoyed by both countries and tackled the latest regional and international developments.
They affirmed the unified Egyptian-Saudi stance towards various regional and international issues of mutual concern, the communiqué said.
According to the final statement, the two countries agreed to reinforce and upgrade economic partnership between them through achieving integration between the opportunities available under Saudi Vision 2030 and Egypt Vision 2030.
The two sides welcomed the 8-billion-dollar deals signed by the private sectors of both countries.
The final statement cast light on a Saudi plan to pump investments in Egypt at a total of 30 billion dollars.
The two countries also announced the launch of a 10-gigawatt electric power project, which will be implemented by the Saudi ACWA Power company.
The two sides praised the volume of trade exchange and expressed their determination to conclude an investment promotion and protection agreement as soon as possible.
For his part, the Saudi crown prince praised economic reforms adopted by the Egyptian government.
The two sides agreed on holding the Middle East Green Initiative Summit and the Saudi Green Initiative Forum on the sidelines of the United Nations conference on climate change, COP27, that Egypt will be hosting in Sharm El Sheikh city in November.
According to the statement, the two countries said they look forward to fostering cooperation in the health sector and are keen on supporting global initiatives to face present and future pandemics and health challenges and threats.
They voiced hope for elevating scientific and educational cooperation to higher levels and also stressed the need for furthering cooperation in the domains of higher education, research and innovation and encouraging more interaction between their scientific institutions and research centers in all fields of knowledge.
The Egyptian and Saudi sides affirmed as well the importance of boosting cooperation in the tourism, sustainable tourism and cultural domains and unifying their approach and stands at international cultural organizations, especially with regard to the files of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage.
The two sides asserted their resolve to strengthen cooperation toward all political issues of mutual concern and adopting joint stances to protect their security and stability, underlining the importance of continuing coordination and consultation regarding any eventualities at bilateral and multilateral fora in a way that serves the security, stability and prosperity of both of them and of the whole region.
According to the Egyptian-Saudi communique, the two sides reviewed a wide range of regional and international files of mutual concern.
They called for intensifying efforts to reach an all-out, fair settlement for the decades-running Palestinian-Israeli conflict through returning to serious and effective negotiations to realize peace based on the principle of the two-state solution, international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative in a way that guarantees the Palestinian people’s right to independence.
They renewed their full support for UN and regional efforts aimed at reaching an overall political solution for the Yemeni crisis that is founded on the Gulf Initiative and its executive mechanisms and the outcomes of the national dialogue and UN Security Council Resolution 2216.
The Egyptian side praised the Saudi kingdom’s efforts and the many initiatives it forwarded to encourage dialogue and reconciliation among the warring parties in Yemen, hailing its role in providing humanitarian aid and easing the delivery and access of relief supplies to all parts of Yemen.
The Saudi and Egyptian sides also asserted their backing to Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council in its efforts to fulfill its duties in implementing effective policies and initiatives to realize security and stability in the country. They stressed as well their support to the UN-brokered Yemeni truce and the decision to extend it.
The Saudi side commended Egypt’s positive response to a request by the UN and the internationally-recognized Yemeni government to operate direct flights between Cairo and Sanaa to help consolidate the truce, improve the humanitarian conditions in Yemen and alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people which is caused by the terrorist Houthi militias.
The two countries condemned repeated attacks by Houthis on civilians and vital facilities in the kingdom. Also, they decried the rebel group’s threat to the safety and security of international maritime routes and criticized its stubbornness that obstructs all endeavors aiming to end the seven-year-old conflict in Yemen.
On Iraq, both sides voiced hope that Iraqi parties would conclude an agreement on forming a government that can realize the aspirations of the Iraqi people to achieve security, stability, development and combat terrorist organizations, according to the final communiqué.
As for Sudan, the two countries reaffirmed their support for Sudan so that the Arab country can maintain its unity and political and economic gains.
Both leaders stressed that they are keen to guarantee the security, stability and territorial integrity of Lebanon through backing all reform measures taken by the Lebanese government.
They also underlined the need to reach a political solution for the Syrian crisis and put an end to regional interference in Syria’s internal affairs.
The two sides underscored the need to maintain the unity of Libya, urging to reach a Libyan-Libyan settlement and hold presidential and parliamentary elections on schedule.
The Saudi side lauded Egypt’s efforts aiming to restore Libya’s security, unity and sovereignty to ensure a brighter future for the Libyan people.
Both sides agreed on supporting international efforts to prevent Iran from possessing nuclear weapons and backing endeavors to create a zone free of nuclear weapons and other WMDs in the Middle East.
On the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the Saudi side voiced full support for Egypt’s water security and urged Ethiopia not to take any unilateral steps on the filling and operation of the dam.
The Saudi side voiced backing for all procedures taken by Egypt to protect its national security.
The Egyptian side also expressed full solidarity with Saudi Arabia in all measures taken to maintain its national security, rejecting any attacks against the kingdom.
Both sides lauded good security cooperation and coordination between the two countries.
The Saudi crown prince extended thanks to Sisi over the warm hospitality accorded to him during his visit to Egypt.
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