Egypt and Saudi Arabia have agreed to work on boosting the mutual economic, social, humanitarian, and cultural relations during the coming period.
The Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry, Nevine Gamea, and Saudi Minister of Trade Majid bin Abdullah al-Qasabi chaired the first meeting of the working group to follow up on the implementation of the recommendations of the Egyptian-Saudi Joint Committee.
The meeting was held in Riyadh to enhance economic, commercial, investment, and industrial cooperation between the two countries.
Gamea said both Saudi and Egyptian governments are keen to achieve a qualitative leap in joint relations, in light of the great support of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the minister stressed the importance of implementing the recommendations of the 17th session of the Egyptian-Saudi Joint Committee, which was held in Cairo last June at the ministerial level.
The committee called for facilitating trade exchange, increasing joint investment and industrial projects, and enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through the exchange of knowledge and experiences.
It also recommended the application of best practices to develop the vital sector in a way that will positively affect both economies.
Trade is the central pillar and driving force for enhancing cooperation and joint efforts in light of regional and global economic and health challenges, said the minister, pointing to activating efforts to develop cooperation relations at the bilateral and multilateral levels.
Gamea called for activating joint efforts to increase the volume of intra-regional trade and enhance cooperation between the two countries in air and maritime transport, finance, tourism, agriculture, electricity, and energy.
She noted the importance of involving economic departments to speed up the implementation of cooperation and contribute to achieving the desired financial goals.
The committee's work yielded many positive results that impacted trade exchange between the two countries, which rose during 2021 to $8.02 billion.
The minister called for accelerating the implementation of the committee's recommendations in various fields, especially electricity, renewable energy, and industrial cooperation.
The meeting was attended by Egypt's Ambassador to Riyadh Ahmed Farouk, assistant minister of Trade and Industry for Economic Affairs Ibrahim al-Sigini, and Egyptian and Saudi representatives from various ministries concerned with areas of cooperation.
