Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab investor in Egypt with their investments reaching some $5.7 billion (SR21.3 billion), or 27 percent of the Arab totals invested in that country, Egyptian Commercial Attache in Riyadh Ahmed Zaki said. Total Arab investments in Egypt are reaching $20 billion (SR75 billion). The UAE was the second largest investor at $4.5 billion (21.4 percent), followed by Kuwait at $2.7 billion (11.2 percent), he told local media. Meanwhile, the volume of trade between the Kingdom and Egypt is estimated at $5 billion (SR18.75 billion) but increased by 1.7 percent in 2012 compared to figures of 2010, whereas Egyptian exports grew by 7.1 percent, he noted. During the above period, Egyptian imports from the Kingdom dropped by 1.9 percent, which led to the drop of deficit of balance of payments between the two countries by 19 percent, he said. In 2012, Egypt ranked 17th on the list of exporting countries to the Kingdom, or equivalent to 1.3 percent of the Kingdom's imports but ranked 24th on the list of biggest importers from the Kingdom, or 0.7 percent of the Kingdom's exports, he said. Zaki pointed out the major commodities exported by Egypt to the Kingdom included electrical cables, construction materials, agricultural products, notably citrus, rice, onions, potatoes, fresh vegetables and fruits, food items such as cheese and frozen vegetables, juice concentrates, paper products, electrical appliances especially cookers and ovens, and furniture. On the other hand, Egypt imported certain items from the Kingdom, including diesel, LPG, cars and other petroleum products, oils, and petrochemicals, he said. Meanwhile, Adel Hanafi, spokesman of the Egyptian workers union in the Kingdom, said that the Saudi-Egyptian relationship is deeply-rooted. Quoting remarks made by the Egyptian Premier Ibrahim Mahlab, he said there will be up to 40 projects offered to investors at the upcoming Sharam El-Sheikh economic conference this month, adding that Saudi investors will have a considerable share in it. Source: Arab News
