Trade and investment top the agenda of meetings with our GCC neighbors: During a high-level visit to the Saudi capital and the holding of the 13th session of the Egypt-Kuwait Joint Committee, numerous agreements were inked — an increasingly familiar story as our trade and investment relations with the Gulf continue to grow.

HIGH-LEVEL DELEGATION LANDS IN RIYADH FOR TRADE, INVESTMENT TALKS-

Madbouly, Kouchouk, and El Khatib visit Riyadh in effort to drum up more Saudi investment: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly touched down in Riyadh yesterday alongside Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk and Investment Minister Hassan El Khatib for talks with their Saudi counterparts aimed at strengthening trade and investment between the two countries, according to a ministry cabinet statement.

The talks focused on showcasing potential investments and Egypt’s ongoing economic reform program, with talks specifically honing in on the government’s newly released tax policy and efforts to eliminate barriers currently faced by Saudi investors. The Saudi side stressed Egypt’s “tremendous investment potential,” with Saudi commerce minister Majid bin Adbullah Al Kassabi pointing to the industrial, agricultural, and real estate sectors as particularly promising.

A bilateral investment agreement in the works? The two sides also made headway on an Agreement on Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments between the two countries, which aims to help protect Saudi investors as they look to double their investments in the country in the coming period, according to Saudi investment minister Khalid Al Falih.

MORE EGYPT-KUWAIT COOPERATION AHEAD WITH TEN NEW MoUs-

The latest session of the Egypt-Kuwait Joint Committee came bearings lots of MoUs: Egypt and Kuwait signed ten MoUs across a number of sectors during the 13th session of the Egypt-Kuwait Joint Committee, which was co-chaired by Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Kuwaiti counterpart Abdullah Al Yahya, according to statements (here, here, and here).

The sectors in question: The two sides signed MoUs in the fields of tourism, housing, media, youth and sports, planning, competition protection, industrial exports, and environmental protection. They also inked an MoU to boolster cooperation between their diplomatic institutes.

More to come? Planning and International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat with the Kuwaiti side discussed the drafting of additional MoUs in the fields of planning, sustainable development, capacity building, and international cooperation, according to a statement.

El Sisi talks regional affairs, cooperation with Al Yahya: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with Al Yahya during his time in Egypt and the “two sides confirmed mutual commitment to further advancing the work of the joint committee to serve the interests of both peoples,” according to an Ittihadiya statement. They also touched on the latest in Gaza and the need to achieve a ceasefire.

RENEWED CALLS FOR A TWO-STATE SOLUTION-

Fresh calls for a two-state solution: A ministerial meeting of Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation members and representatives from Ireland, Norway, Slovenia, and Spain called for the “credible, irreversible implementation of the two-state solution in accordance with international law and agreed parameters” in Palestine, according to a joint statement from the participants. They also called for the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza — including the Philadelphi corridor — and the return of Palestinian control over the Rafah crossing. The participants warned against the “dangerous escalation in the West Bank and urge an immediate halt to military attacks against the Palestinians.”

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