CAIRO: A new bank will be established in Egypt to “maintain the safety of the assets of Saudi investments and support small businesses,” SPA, Saudi Arabia's state news agency, reported. The decision was ratified by the Saudi-Egyptian business council, which met in Jeddah on Saturday, in the presence of the Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Mahmoud Eisa as well as Saudi Arabia's Minister of Commerce and Industry Abdullah bin Ahmed Zaynal. With more than 2,355 Saudi companies established and over $10 billion worth of investments immersed in Egypt's economy, the country has a lot to maintain. Trade agreements between both countries currently exceed $4 billion. In May, the kingdom pledged $4 billion worth of aid to Egypt after the economic slump the country saw as a result of the January 25 revolution that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak and put many of his close cronies under investigation for corruption. The country's business, tourism, foreign direct investments, and foreign currency reserves all took a hard hit after the political unrest following the revolution.
