An Egyptian-Saudi agreement to achieve a “paradigm shift” in cooperation relations

Egypt and Saudi Arabia have agreed to work to achieve a “paradigm shift” in the level of joint economic, social, humanitarian and cultural relations during the coming period.

Yesterday, the Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry, Nevin Gamea, and Dr. Maged Al-Qasabi, the Minister of Trade in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, chaired the first meeting of the working group concerned with following up on the implementation of the recommendations of the Egyptian-Saudi Joint Committee, which was hosted by the capital, Riyadh, with the aim of enhancing economic, commercial, investment and industrial cooperation between the two countries during the next stage.

Jameh said that “the governments of Egypt and Saudi Arabia are keen to achieve a qualitative leap in the level of joint economic, social, humanitarian and cultural relations, especially in light of the great support of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which is a fundamental pillar to push Joint relations to broader horizons in various sectors and at all levels.

The Egyptian minister stressed, according to a statement by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the importance of implementing the recommendations of the seventeenth session of the Egyptian-Saudi Joint Committee, which was held in Cairo last June at the ministerial level, which recommended “facilitating the movement of trade exchange and increasing joint investment and industrial projects in addition to enhancing competitiveness.” Small and medium enterprises through the exchange of knowledge and experiences and the application of best practices to develop and develop this important sector in a way that will positively affect the economies of the two countries.

She added, “The Egyptian state appreciates the status, components and economic potential of the two countries and their unique location on the most important global waterways, which qualifies Egypt and Saudi Arabia to occupy a distinguished global position, expand trade and economic partnerships, and open new markets in various countries of the world,” noting that “trade constitutes the main pillar and driving force for enhancing cooperation.” The joint efforts between the two countries in light of regional and global economic and health challenges,” pointing to “the importance of activating joint efforts to develop and develop joint cooperation relations at the bilateral and multilateral levels, especially in light of the political will in the two countries, which pays special attention to removing barriers to the movement of trade, capital, technology and individuals.” and services between the two countries.

She called for “activating joint efforts to increase the volume of intra-regional trade and enhance cooperation between the two countries in the sectors of air and maritime transport, finance, tourism, agriculture, electricity and energy,” noting the importance of involving economic departments to speed up the implementation of cooperation programs between the two countries and to contribute to achieving the desired economic goals.

And she continued: The results of the committee’s work included many positive results that had an impact on the rates of trade exchange between the two countries, which rose during 2021 to record 8.02 billion dollars, calling for accelerating the pace of implementation of the committee’s recommendations in various fields, especially electricity, renewable energy, and industrial cooperation, which contributes to Increasing the volume of trade exchange and overcoming the challenges and obstacles facing the two countries, whether in accessing markets, technology and innovation, and implementing joint projects capable of regional and international competition.

The meeting was attended by Ambassador Ahmed Farouk, Egypt’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ibrahim Al-Sigini, assistant minister of trade and industry for economic affairs and head of the Egyptian work team in the preparatory meetings, as well as representatives of Egyptian and Saudi authorities from various ministries concerned with areas of joint cooperation between the two countries.