Ways to improve trade and investment relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia topped the agenda of official talks on Monday in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir met with Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef and Minister of Commerce Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi.
Saudi Export Development Authority CEO Abdulrahman Sulaiman Althukair and Acting head of Saudi EXIM Bank Nayef bin Abdulrahman al-Shammari attended the meeting.
The talks also tackled ways of benefiting from the great economic potentials of both countries.
Samir said that his ministry is keen to increase vistas of co-operation with Saudi Arabia in all fields and that he is looking forward to expanding investment projects between the two countries in the near future.
Cairo and Riyadh are eager to develop industrial and investment relations in a way that will boost strategic relations in various domains, Samir said.
The two sides agreed to greater co-operation between the Egyptian General Authority for Industrial Development and the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud fully support joint ties to wider horizons in the different sectors, Samir said.
The two sides also discussed mechanisms for achieving industrial integration between Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in order to enhance Egyptian-Saudi industrial partnerships.
The minister stressed the importance of facilitating trade between Egypt and the Kingdom.
Egyptian-Saudi trade exchange was worth $4.5 billion in 2021, compared to $3.2 billion in 2020, marking an increase of 41.3 per cent.
Saudi Arabia the second largest investor in Egypt, with $6.12 billion in 6,017 projects in industry, construction, tourism, agriculture, services, finance, communications and information technology, Samir said.
