SPA told Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited Saudi Arabia on Sunday to seek financial infusions to support its currency and economy.
Oil-rich Saudi Arabia has traditionally supported Egypt financially but recently said it would no longer do so without conditions, which some belief may have caused a rare media confrontation between the two nations.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt’s diplomatic realignment with Syria, Iran, and Turkey before the trip.
SPA said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, met with Sisi in Jeddah to discuss regional and bilateral issues.
It also said Saudi national security advisor Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban and Egyptian intelligence head Abbas Kamel attended the meeting.
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have helped Egypt since Sisi ousted Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Mursi a decade ago.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar placed deposits in Egypt’s central bank and vowed large new investments last year after the Ukrainian war revealed and aggravated Egypt’s financial problems.
After losing over half its value against the dollar since March 2022, the Egyptian pound has been under pressure recently due to delayed investments.
In December, Egypt negotiated a $3 billion rescue plan with the IMF to attract $9.7 billion in foreign direct investment by June 2023.
