CAIRO (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi agreed to deepen trade and investment cooperation and called for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon in talks in Cairo on Tuesday.
Egypt’s presidency said the leaders signed an agreement to encourage and protect mutual investments between the countries, and witnessed the signing of an accord to form a supreme coordination council between Riyadh and Cairo to deepen cooperation.
The visit is taking place amid speculation about potential Saudi investments in Egypt, which has received a major influx of external financing this year including a record $35 billion deal with UAE sovereign fund ADQ.
The crown prince, known as MbS, made his last official visit to Egypt in 2022. Saudi Arabia, which has provided financial support to Sisi’s Egypt in the past, later indicated it was shifting towards investing rather than providing direct aid to allies.
Tuesday’s presidency statement said the two leaders reviewed efforts to develop economic partnership between Cairo and Riyadh particularly in investment, trade and economic integration in the energy, transport and tourism sectors.
The leaders also discussed regional developments, particularly the situations in Gaza and Lebanon, the presidency said, adding that “they demanded to start taking steps to reach calm that include a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon”.
Egypt’s sovereign dollar bonds rallied by early afternoon on Tuesday, with longer-dated maturities gaining the most. The 2059 maturity added 1.73 cents by 1128 GMT to bid at 77.80 cents on the dollar.
Egypt’s prime minister said last month that Saudi Arabia was planning to invest $5 billion in Egypt, independently from funds the Gulf state has deposited in the Egyptian central bank.
Possible targets of investment include two sites for tourism developments on Egypt’s Red Sea coast and in the south of its Sinai peninsula, both of which are opposite Saudi Arabia.
Egypt has been seeking large investments as it tackles a long-running economic crisis that led to record inflation, a rising debt burden and sharp currency devaluations over the past two years.
(Reporting by Mohamed Waly; Additional reporting by Libby George, Mohamed Hendawy and Jaidaa Taha; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Hugh Lawson, William Maclean)
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