Saudi Crown Prince travels to Cairo to talk about Middle East crises and investments

According to Egyptian diplomatic sources, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is in Cairo on Tuesday to talk with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi about commerce and investment, as well as the crises in Gaza and Lebanon.

The visit coincides with conjecture over possible Saudi investments in Egypt, which has seen a significant surge in foreign funding this year, including a record $35 billion agreement with the UAE sovereign fund ADQ.

In 2022, the crown prince, also referred to as MbS, paid Egypt his final formal visit. Saudi Arabia, which has already given money to Sisi’s Egypt, subsequently said it was moving away from giving allies direct help and toward investing.

Early Tuesday afternoon saw a rally in Egypt’s sovereign dollar bonds, with longer-dated maturities seeing the biggest gains. By 1128 GMT, the 2059 maturity was trading at 77.80 cents on the dollar, up 1.73 cents.

In addition to the money the Gulf state has placed in Egypt’s central bank, Saudi Arabia plans to spend $5 billion in Egypt, according to the prime minister of Egypt last month.

Two locations for tourism expansions on Egypt’s Red Sea coast and in the southern Sinai Peninsula—both of which face Saudi Arabia—are potential investment destinations.

As it attempts to recover from a protracted economic crisis that has resulted in record inflation, a growing debt load, and significant currency devaluations over the last two years, Egypt has been looking for significant investments.

According to the diplomatic sources, the crown prince was anticipated to talk about regional issues, such as the conflicts in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, as well as bilateral relations with an emphasis on trade and investment during his meeting with Sisi.

Without providing any other information, Saudi official television reported that the crown prince had left for Egypt.