Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to set up a 60 billion Saudi riyal (about $16m) investment fund including an economic free-zone to develop Egypt’s Sinai region. The agreement was signed in Egypt’s Abdeen palace in the presence of the country’s president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi’s King Salman during his four-day visit to the North Africa country.
A memorandum of understanding was also signed between the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the Egyptian International Cooperation Ministry to set up an economic free-zone in Sinai. The two countries also signed an agreement to develop a 2250 megawatt electricity plant with a cost of $2.2 billion to set up an agriculture complexes in Sinai and develop a canal to transfer water.
Egypt has struggled to encourage economic growth in the country since the 2011 uprising ushered in political instability. This has scared off tourists and foreign investors, the key source of foreign currency in the country.