Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed today, Tuesday, an agreement to encourage and protect mutual investments between the two countries, in addition to forming the Egyptian-Saudi Supreme Coordination Council.

The Egyptian-Saudi Supreme Coordination Council is headed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia.

Earlier on Tuesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received, at Cairo International Airport, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Prime Minister.

According to the Egyptian presidency’s statement, the two leaders held a bilateral meeting, followed by an expanded discussion session in the presence of Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister of Egypt, and the delegations of the two countries.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi indicated the mutual keenness to translate the historical relations and ties between the two countries, by strengthening bilateral institutional mechanisms, especially by inaugurating the Egyptian-Saudi Supreme Coordination Council headed by the Egyptian President and the Saudi Crown Prince, to follow up on various aspects of bilateral relations and ways to constantly develop them. .

For his part; Prince Mohammed bin Salman conveyed to President Sisi the greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, stressing the importance that the Kingdom attaches to strengthening bilateral relations and continuing to build on the historical ties extending between the two countries and the two brotherly peoples, to achieve the common interest at the various political, economic and development levels.

In this context, the ongoing efforts to develop the Egyptian-Saudi economic partnership were reviewed, especially in the field of investment exchange, trade exchange between the two countries, and economic integration in the fields of energy, transportation, and tourism.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on September 15 that the final touches were being put in place in the agreement to protect Saudi-Egyptian investment.

Madbouly told the Saudi Minister of Investment last August that the Egyptian government had succeeded in solving 70% of the problems of Saudi investors, and added, “I am personally keen to follow up on this important file.”

Madbouly added that a special unit in the Egyptian Ministry of Investment will work to pay attention to Saudi investments, and that 90 problems were facing Saudi investors in Egypt that the government committed to solving through unconventional methods, of which only 14 problems remain.

He pointed out that Egypt now has a package of reforms and investment incentives in sectors such as real estate development, agricultural industry, tourism, renewable energy, and others, and has also succeeded in controlling the challenges that affect financial and monetary policy and the exchange rate of the Egyptian pound.

For his part, Saudi Minister of Commerce Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi said that there are great efforts being made to improve the business environment and attract investments between the Kingdom and Egypt, considering that signing the Saudi-Egyptian investment protection agreement will be a real support for economic relations between the two countries.

In turn, Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih said that Saudi-Egyptian relations are a model for close Arab cooperation, and that cooperation between them enhances economic growth in the region, while the number of licenses granted to Egyptian investors in the Kingdom reached about 5,767 licenses.

Saudi private sector investments in Egypt exceed $35 billion as of November 2023, while the number of Egyptian companies in Saudi Arabia is about 2,000.

Saudi Arabia is Egypt's second largest trading partner, as the volume of trade exchange between Saudi Arabia and Egypt reached $12.8 billion in 2023.