An economic report — issued by the Federation of Saudi Chambers (FSC) on the occasion of the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, deputy prime minister and minister of defense, to Egypt — showed that the Saudi-Egyptian economic relations are based on a solid foundation. It is based on institutional frameworks represented by economic cooperation agreements and the Joint Saudi-Egyptian Business Council, which represent important tools to develop the cooperation fields and opportunities between the two countries at all levels. The report showed that Saudi Arabia and Egypt have more than 160 bilateral agreements supporting the growth of economic ties, where the trade exchange volume reached around SR54 billion in 2021, marking the highest value historically and realizing a growth rate of 87% compared with 2020. The volume of Saudi exports in 2020 to the Egyptian market stood at SR38.6 billion and Egyptian imports to the Saudi market hit SR 5.7 billion with a record increase of 60%. Saudi investments in Egypt exceeded $32 billion through more than 6,800 Saudi companies, while Egyptian investments in Saudi Arabia stand at $5 billion through more than 802 Egyptian companies. Saudi investments in Egypt are mainly focused on the industrial, construction, tourism, financial, services, agricultural, and ICT sectors, while Egyptian investments in Saudi Arabia are mainly in the industrial, construction, ICT, wholesale and retail, and technological, scientific and professional services. According to these numbers, Egypt is considered the biggest Arab commercial partner to Saudi Arabia and the seventh biggest partner in terms of exports and ninth in imports at the international level. Egypt ranked second on the list of the biggest countries that Saudi Arabia granted investment licenses to in 2020 with a total of 160 investment licenses and came second in terms of new projects in Saudi Arabia, where the number of investment deals signed during the first quarter of 2022 stands at around 11 deals, and Saudi Arabia ranked second in terms of investments in Egypt. The report also referred to the mutual economic importance between the two countries, where Saudi Arabia represents an economic importance to Egypt for its being a market for many Egyptian agricultural, industrial and service exports and big host of Egyptian workforce and a main source for tourism. Saudi investments play an important role in diversifying and supporting the Egyptian economy, in addition to being a hub for Egyptian products to access Gulf markets and a fertile land for Egyptian investments in several sectors. Meanwhile, Egypt has a special economic importance to Saudi Arabia due to the fact it represents a depth for Saudi, Gulf and high-consumption markets, in addition to its ability to be a significant gate for Saudi products to access African countries and its being a resource for several agricultural and industrial products and a main source for workforces and scientific, technical and vocational expertise. — SPA
