Saudi crown prince meets Egypt's Sisi in Cairo

 

Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Egyptian president Abdelfattah al-Sisi in Cairo on Tuesday, calling for regional de-escalation as Egypt prepares for a fresh $5 billion in Saudi investments.

The pair reiterated calls for de-escalation and ceasefires in both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, warning that "attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause intend to perpetuate conflict in the region", Sisi's office said.

They also witnessed the formation of a high-level Saudi-Egyptian coordination council and the "signing of an agreement to encourage and protect mutual investments", after months of Egyptian attempts to draw Saudi investors in.

The official Saudi Press Agency reported that Prince Mohammed and Sisi discussed "the security and stability of the region".

It also said Prince Mohammed was travelling from Egypt to Brussels to attend a summit on Wednesday for European Union and Gulf leaders.

Last month, Prince Mohammed announced he had directed the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund to "pump $5 billion in investments in Egypt as an initial phase", according to Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly's office.

Madbouly signalled in a cabinet meeting this week that the government was set to announce "important news" on the long-delayed privatisation of "banks and airports", according to a cabinet statement.

Saudi investment has been key to crisis-hit Egypt's plans to privatise state holdings, with Cairo struggling to escape from its worst-ever economic crisis, during which the Egyptian pound has lost two-thirds of its value in two years.

Earlier this year, Egypt received a bailout of over $50 billion in loans and investment deals including from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the United Arab Emirates.

Abu Dhabi alone pledged $35 billion for a land development deal for Egypt's Ras al-Hikma on the Mediterranean coast.

Reports then emerged of a similar but smaller Saudi investment deal to develop Ras Gamila on Egypt's Red Sea coast, as well as investor interest in the country's tourism, energy and banking sectors.

But deals have been slow to bear fruit, amid reported transparency issues and attempts by Cairo to create a favourable investment climate.

Madbouly last month said that of the around "90 problems" facing Saudi investors in the North African country, only "14 issues" remained.