The Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC) is conducting a study to launch a new initiative aiming at promoting cooperation between Egypt and the kingdom in Africa, in parallel with Egypt’s presidency of the African Union (AU), the Chairperson of CSC, Sami Bin Abdullah Al-Abidi, said on Saturday.
“The new initiative is part of joint activities for promoting Saudi investments in Egypt. The number of Saudi firms increased to 5,338 companies lately,” he added on Saturday during his participation at the Egyptian-Saudi Business Forum which was co-organised by Egypt’s Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation.
The study of promoting Egyptian-Saudi cooperation in Africa initiative likely to be finalised within a month and will be launched shortly, Al-Abidi added.
The CSC will hold a joint meeting with Egyptian partners in Aswan, as well as another meeting in one of the Saudi cities with the hope of boosting the partnership with Egypt, he stated.
“We are serious in increasing our businesses in Egypt, yet, we call on the Egyptian government to solve the investment challenges that still face the Saudi businesspersons,” he mentioned.
Ahmed Al-Wakil, chairperson of the Egyptian Federation of Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC), said that Egypt and Saudi Arabia will play a vital role in achieving the long-awaited dream of economic integration between the Arab countries, affirming that the Saudi investments topped the Arab countries’ investments in Egypt.
There are about 1.3 million Egyptian expatriates in Saudi Arabia versus 500,000 Saudi citizens living in Egypt, he added, affirming that the private sector in both countries should respond to the political leaderships’ directives to boost joint business.
He asserted that Egypt offers key investment opportunities in the local market, including logistics, land reclamation, and transportation.
Additionally, Head of the Saudi-Egyptian Business Council, Abdullah bin Mahfouz, said that there is a huge opportunity for boosting cooperation with the Egyptian side to reconstruct Libya and Yemen.
Al-Wakil added that trade exchange with Egypt hiked to about $8bn over 2018, affirming opportunities to continue increasing over next years.
The Egyptian government is implementing major investment improvements, including a new legislation, said the Board Member of Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt, Abdel Hamid Mohamed Abu Moussa, noting that a strong road network has been implemented which attracts foreign investments to the country.
