Saudi Arabia will place a deposit of $5 billion in the Central Bank of Turkey within days, the country’s finance minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said at a press conference in Riyadh Wednesday.
Al-Jadaan said “the decision was taken between” Saudi and Turkey, adding that discussions were on remaining details and the deposit will happen soon, according to a Reuters report. In a November 22 report, a spokesperson from the Saudi finance ministry told Reuters that the two states were in “final discussion” on the deposit.
The kingdom’s finance minister said there has been great improvement in their relationship with Turkey and that they aim to make investments in the country and other nations, referring to the renewal of deposits for Pakistan and Egypt and the investments of the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Saudi now has an estimated $10.3 billion deposit in Egypt after the latest $5 billion announced in March. Last month, the kingdom announced it would extend the term of the $5 billion deposit. The finance minister said the kingdom has been investing heavily in Egypt, adding that the PIF will continue with a number of projects in the country.
According to Al-Jadaan, they will also help Pakistan as much as it can as the country struggles with the impact of rising inflation, Bloomberg reported. Saudi extended earlier this month the term of a $3 billion deposit in the South Asian nation to boost foreign currency reserves.
Saudi Arabia said it aims to lead investments in Egypt worth $30 billion after the two countries inked deals worth $7.7 billion in June. The agreements cover several sectors which include renewable energy, green hydrogen, pharmaceuticals, and e-commerce.
One of the deals included a $1.5 billion agreement between Saudi Utility Developer ACWA Power and the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company to establish a wind power plant. Other agreements entailed setting up a multi-purpose terminal at Egypt’s Damietta port.
