Saudi Minister of Commerce and Investment Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qassabi (right) and Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Tariq Qabil co-chaired the meeting in Riyadh.

:: Trade and coordination of joint positions in international and regional forums were highlighted during the 16th Saudi-Egyptian Joint Committee meeting that concluded in Riyadh on Thursday.

Following a series of bilateral meetings over the past two days, five working groups were formed to discuss issues in the economic, commercial, investment, industry, cultural, educational and training fields.

The two sides stressed the importance of continuing coordination of joint positions in international and regional forums, especially within the framework of the World Trade Organization, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

They also highlighted the importance of enhancing cooperation in the intra-trade movement between the two countries and small and medium enterprises.

The volume of trade exchange between the Kingdom and Egypt for 2016 amounted to $5.841 million. The Kingdom’s exports for the same year reached about $3.726 million while imports amounted to $2,841 million.

The meeting was co-chaired by Saudi Minister of Commerce and Investment Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qassabi and Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Tariq Qabil in the presence of a number of senior officials of both countries.

Al-Qassabi stressed the efforts exerted by the governments of both Saudi Arabia and Egypt to improve trade relations and exploit investment opportunities, overcome the obstacles and difficulties hindering the flow of bilateral investments and increase the volume of trade exchange between the two countries.

“King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are keen to strengthen the Saudi-Egyptian partnership in various fields,” he said.