Bilateral trade between Egypt and Saudi Arabia grew by 20 percent last year in transactions worth US$30 billion, said Egyptian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Afifi Abdel Wahab on Monday.
The trade balance is in favor of Saudi Arabia, as Egypt imported large quantities of petrochemicals and petroleum products to feed the domestic market, state-run news agency MENA quoted Abdel Wahab as saying.
He also pointed to the possibility of building a special partnership between the Qassim region in central Saudi Arabia and Egyptian governorates with similar topographical features and characteristics, as well as organizing trips for both tourists and delegations of Saudi businessmen to Egypt.
The ambassador met with a number of businessmen at the Chamber of Commerce, and stressed the desire of all Egyptian expatriates to promote and support the local economy by increasing their bank remittances.
Saudi Arabia topped the list of the most import markets for Egyptian goods during the past year, as Egypt's total exports hit LE11.8 billion in 2012, with a growth rate of 1 percent compared to 2011.
The minister of foreign trade and industry had said earlier that Saudi investments in Egypt amount US$5.6 billion, and that the Egyptian government seeks to doubled them in the next three years, especially in the areas of construction, industry, tourism, agriculture and land reclamation, energy and petrochemicals.
Edited translation from MENA
