CAIRO: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al Sisi agreed to deepen trade and investment cooperation and called for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon in talks in Cairo on Tuesday, as Egypt prepares for a fresh $5 billion in Saudi investments.

The pair reiterated calls for de-escalation and ceasefires in both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, warning that “attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause intend to perpetuate conflict in the region”, Sisi’s office said.

Egypt’s presidency said the leaders signed an agreement to encourage and protect mutual investments between the countries, and witnessed the signing of an accord to form a supreme coordination council between Riyadh and Cairo to deepen cooperation. The crown prince, known as MBS, made his last official visit to Egypt in 2022. Saudi Arabia, which has provided financial support to Egypt in the past, later indicated it was shifting towards investing rather than providing direct aid to allies.

Tuesday’s presidency statement said the two leaders reviewed efforts to develop economic partnership between Cairo and Riyadh particularly in investment, trade and economic integration in the energy, transport and tourism sectors.

The leaders also discussed regional developments, particularly the situations in Gaza and Lebanon, the presidency said, adding that “they demanded to start taking steps to reach calm that include a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon”.

Egypt’s sovereign dollar bonds rallied by early afternoon on Tuesday, with longer-dated maturities gaining the most. The 2059 maturity added 1.73 cents by 1128 GMT to bid at 77.80 cents on the dollar.Saudi investment has been key to crisis-hit Egypt’s plans to privatise state holdings, with Cairo struggling to escape from its worst-ever economic crisis, during which the Egyptian pound has lost two-thirds of its value in two years.

Earlier this year, Egypt received a bailout of over $50 billion in loans and investment deals including from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the United Arab Emirates.

Abu Dhabi alone pledged $35 billion for a land development deal for Egypt’s Ras al Hikma on the Mediterranean coast.

Reports then emerged of a similar but smaller Saudi investment deal to develop Ras Gamila on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, as well as investor interest in the country’s tourism, energy and banking sectors. But deals have been slow to bear fruit, amid reported transparency issues and attempts by Cairo to create a favourable investment climate.

Madbouly last month said that of the around “90 problems” facing Saudi investors in the North African country, only “14 issues” remained.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2024