Saudi Commerce and Investment Minister Majid Bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi on Tuesday reaffirmed that the Kingdom has worked for providing a positive environment to encourage investment exchange between Cairo and Riyadh.
Qasabi highlighted reformed regulations in Egypt making long progressive strides that will most definitely boost Saudi-Egyptian joint investments.
The Saudi trade minister also addressed an audience of business moguls and state officials brought together by the Egyptian-Saudi Business Council. Saudi Arabia and Egypt agreed to a roadmap designed to optimize partnership across six trade fields.
Economic partnerships will be brought to the next level, launching multifaceted joint initiatives in Africa, especially in the construction, agricultural and industrial sectors.
The Saudi minister described the Egyptian-Saudi relations as strategic, saying that the current visit of the Saudi crown prince ensures strong and close relations and reflects keenness on promoting them. Qasabi asserted the importance of the Egyptian market as a distinguished destination for Saudi investments, noting that joint economic ties will be given a stronger impetus in the coming phase.
Addressing the Egyptian-Saudi Business Council in the presence of Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker, the Saudi minister termed relations between the two countries as "historical" and based on a powerful partnership.
The volume of trade exchange between the two countries hit $7.3 billion, while Saudi direct investments in Egypt exceeded $3.4 billion. He added that the number of Saudi companies in Egypt has reached 5,000.
Shaker said that Egyptian energy sector is growing at an accelerated pace, providing a host of opportunities for partners, especially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
He called on Saudi investors to place bids in the Egyptian national energy sector, especially in renewable energy. Shaker also pointed to a strategic plan Egypt has enacted to transform itself into a hub for energy distribution and sustainable energy production in Africa.
Bilateral economic relations are witnessing steady growth, wide opportunities for strategic partnership and an active trade movement exceeding $7 billion.
Chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers Sami al-Obaidi, for his part, underlined the importance of economic relations between Riyadh and Cairo, noting the development in the volume of trade exchange between the two countries, which amounted to $7.3 billion (27.4 billion riyals) in 2017, compared to $5.8 billion (21.9 billion riyals) in 2016.