Saudi-Uzbek Committee Discusses Investment Opportunities Worth $31 Bn

Saudi Minister of Investment Engineer Khalid al-Falih and Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev during the meeting of the Saudi-Uzbek Joint Committee (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Investment Engineer Khalid al-Falih and Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev during the meeting of the Saudi-Uzbek Joint Committee (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi-Uzbek Committee Discusses Investment Opportunities Worth $31 Bn

Saudi Minister of Investment Engineer Khalid al-Falih and Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev during the meeting of the Saudi-Uzbek Joint Committee (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Investment Engineer Khalid al-Falih and Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev during the meeting of the Saudi-Uzbek Joint Committee (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi-Uzbek Joint Committee is set to discuss 50 potential investment opportunities worth approximately $31 billion in Uzbekistan, Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih has announced.

The Committee held its sixth meeting in Riyadh, chaired by Falih from the Saudi side and the Deputy Prime Minister, Jamshid Khodjaev, from the Uzbek side.

Falih pointed out that these projects aim to achieve the target of $110 billion in foreign investments within the goals of the Uzbekistan 2030 strategy.

The Saudi Minister emphasized the compatibility of economic goals through Uzbekistan's National Development Strategy 2023-2030, the Kingdom's Vision 2030, and the National Investment Strategy.

He also pledged full support for the efforts of the Saudi-Uzbek Business Council, which plays a crucial role in bringing together the private sectors of both countries.

The meeting aimed to identify specific areas of cooperation between the two countries.

The meeting discussed several topics related to developing bilateral cooperation in the economic, trade, and investment fields. It also reviewed the promising investment opportunities between the two countries and the business environment in both nations.

The meeting stressed the importance of strengthening joint work and pushing relations to new and promising horizons, boosting the economic and social partnership between the two countries and transferring it to a broader scope.

It also addressed the continued work to enable partnership between the private sector, encourage mutual investments, enhance trade exchange, and overcome any challenges facing the development of economic relations.

Furthermore, the two sides praised the joint projects and investments in energy, renewable energy, health, infrastructure, agriculture, and human resources development.

The meeting concluded with the signing of several memorandums of understanding between the private sectors of the two countries and the minutes of the sixth committee meeting that included multiple joint initiatives and work programs.



Egypt's Revenue from the Suez Canal Plunged Sharply in 2024

FILED - 17 November 2019, Egypt, Ismailia: A container ship sails through the Suez Canal. Photo: Gehad Hamdy/dpa
FILED - 17 November 2019, Egypt, Ismailia: A container ship sails through the Suez Canal. Photo: Gehad Hamdy/dpa
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Egypt's Revenue from the Suez Canal Plunged Sharply in 2024

FILED - 17 November 2019, Egypt, Ismailia: A container ship sails through the Suez Canal. Photo: Gehad Hamdy/dpa
FILED - 17 November 2019, Egypt, Ismailia: A container ship sails through the Suez Canal. Photo: Gehad Hamdy/dpa

Egypt's revenue from the Suez Canal plunged by almost two thirds last year, officials said Wednesday, attributing the sharp drop to regional tensions and wars in the Middle East that have impacted traffic through the key waterway.

The canal is a major source of foreign currency for the Egyptian government, with about 10% of world trade flowing through the waterway in recent years.

The Suez Canal Authority, which runs the waterway, said the canal generated an annual revenue of $3.991 billion in 2024, down from a historic high of $10.25 billion in 2023, according to a statement posted on its Facebook page, The Associated Press said.

Canal traffic has been significantly disrupted after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi group started to threaten maritime trade and targeting vessels heading to Israel through the Suez Canal to pressure Israel to stop the war in Gaza, which started on Oct. 7, 2023.

Between November 2023 and January 2024, the Houthis targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two ships and killing four sailors. The militant group insisted the attacks would continue as long as the wars go on and have devastated shipping through the region.

According to the Egyptian canal authority, only 13,213 ships passed through the canal in 2024, marking a 50% decline compared to the number of ships in 2023, when over 26,000 ships passed through.

Still, canal authority chief Osama Rabie said that the attacks challenge the region but have not prevented Egypt from continuing to provide its navigational and maritime services in the Suez.

The International Monetary Fund reported in March 2024 that the Suez Canal trade dropped by 50% in the first two months of that year, compared to the previous year, citing attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government in 2015 completed a significant expansion of the Suez Canal, adding a second shipping lane and allowing it to handle some of the world’s largest vessels.

The canal, which connects the Mediterranean and the Red seas, was opened in 1869. It serves as a vital artery for global trade — a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo. The canal authority operates a system of convoys, consisting of one northbound and one southbound per day.