Investment Contract for Saudi Arabia’s First Coffee-Growing City Signed

A veiled woman makes coffee as she works at a coffee shop in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Reuters
A veiled woman makes coffee as she works at a coffee shop in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Reuters
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Investment Contract for Saudi Arabia’s First Coffee-Growing City Signed

A veiled woman makes coffee as she works at a coffee shop in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Reuters
A veiled woman makes coffee as she works at a coffee shop in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Reuters

The Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture has signed an investment contract for the first “coffee city” in the Kingdom.

The deal with the Agricultural Cooperative Society in Baljurashi, which lasts for 15 years, was signed under the patronage of Abdul Rahman Al-Fadhli, the Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, and in the presence of Undersecretary for Agriculture Ahmed Al-Ayada.

The ministry said that the agreement aims to achieve sustainability of agricultural products and crops, encourage agricultural investment, develop vegetation cover, create local job opportunities, and enhance the role of cooperative societies in the Kingdom.

The agreement includes the cultivation of 300,000 coffee arabica seedlings and pomegranate trees on a 1,662,373-square-meter site in the village of Mashuqa, in Al-Qura governorate, Al-Baha.

It will include a model farm, an integrated nursery for cultivating coffee seedlings, and an industrial center that includes workshops, warehouses, a business center, on-site accommodation, a training center, and a mosque.



France Signs Deals to Help Egypt’s Economy in Volatile Regional Climate

 Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) and French President Emmanuel Macron (L) attend the Egypt-France Business Forum, in Cairo, on April 7, 2025. (AFP)
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) and French President Emmanuel Macron (L) attend the Egypt-France Business Forum, in Cairo, on April 7, 2025. (AFP)
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France Signs Deals to Help Egypt’s Economy in Volatile Regional Climate

 Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) and French President Emmanuel Macron (L) attend the Egypt-France Business Forum, in Cairo, on April 7, 2025. (AFP)
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) and French President Emmanuel Macron (L) attend the Egypt-France Business Forum, in Cairo, on April 7, 2025. (AFP)

France and Egypt signed strategic partnership agreements on Monday, in areas covering health, transport and energy, which French President Emmanuel Macron said would help shore up Egypt's stability amid volatility in the region.

"Egypt is a strategic partner for our country," said Macron, speaking alongside Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at a news conference in Cairo.

"I would thus like to reaffirm France's commitment to ensuring the stability of Egypt given the context of a worsening climate in the region and as the Egyptian economy faces challenges," added Macron.

Macron said he continued to back talks between Egypt and the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission.

The IMF approved last month the disbursement of $1.2 billion to Egypt, which has been grappling with high inflation and shortages of foreign currency.

Macron added France's overseas aid development body would sign 260 million euros ($284.5 million) worth of loans and grants for Egypt in areas such as transport, health, water and energy.

Macron and Sisi also both reaffirmed their calls for a ceasefire to the fighting in Gaza and for the release of Israeli hostages.