Saudi king's Cairo visit to push ties forward

Egyptian-Saudi strategic relations have surpassed the level of political understanding and support to the current phase of enforcing development programs and economic projects beneficial to both sides, Egyptian International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr said.

The upcoming Cairo visit of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud, which starts Thursday, will give a huge push to joint cooperation at all levels, the Egyptian minister told the Saudi edition of London-based "Asharq Al Awsat" newspaper.

The Egyptian and Saudi sides, during the visit, will sign a number of important agreements in the different fields, she said, adding that the Egyptian-Saudi coordinating council will follow up the activation of the signed deals in the coming period, including King Salman's program to develop the Sinai Peninsula.

Egypt is suffering from a funding gap of $27 billion and is working on attracting investments to bridge it, in addition to international grants and loans, Nasr said.

The Saudi king's visit will be his first to the country since assuming power, she noted.

The agreements and MoUs expected to be signed during the visit are the ones prepared during meetings of the Egyptian-Saudi coordinating council, which were held in the past period rotationally in Cairo and Riyadh, she said.

They cover the fields of double taxation prevention, agriculture, peaceful use of nuclear energy, electricity, housing, education, labor, maritime transport and ports, culture and television and radio, she expounded.

Moreover, there are the projects included in the King Salman program for the development of Sinai Peninsula, collectively worth $1.5 billion, and loan agreements for west Cairo's power station and the Kasr Al Aini hospital project, she said.

She pointed out to Saudi Arabia's support for Egypt after the 30 June 2013 revolution, saying the kingdom offered Egypt $5 billion (including a $1 billion deposit at the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), $2 billion to the Petroleum Ministry and $1 billion to support the state budget).

After the Sharm El Sheikh economic conference in March 2015, the kingdom offered Egypt a funding package worth $4 billion (a $1 billion deposit at the CBE and $3 billion for projects carried out by the Saudi Fund for Development and the line of credit) in addition to a grant announced by the king to support SMEs, she said.

Source : MENA