Qatar is reportedly in advanced talks with Egypt to invest $3.5 billion in the implementation of a major tourist project along Egypt's North Coast.
If they proceed, the talks are likely to culminate in a deal later this year, according to media reports.
They are part of the larger context of strengthening relations between Egypt and the Gulf state.
In March 2022, Qatar announced a $5 billion investment in Egypt. In April of this year, it announced that it would invest an additional $7.5 billion in the fellow Arab country.
Whether the expected $3.5 billion investment will be part of this package of investments is yet known.
There is also little information about the exact location of the expected project and whether the Egyptian government will acquire a stake in it in any form.
These investment pledges will compound billions of dollars in Qatari investments in Egypt, which are spread across a wide range of Egyptian economic sectors, including real estate, hospitality, petroleum, and health.
Qatari Diar has been operating in the Egyptian market for several years, having launched some of the country's most significant real estate projects.
The group's projects align with Egypt's plans to expand its real estate market and transform it into an opportunity-rich environment for local, Arab and international investors.
Strengthening ties
Information about the talks begins to emerge as relations between Cairo and Doha continue to improve following the 2017 diplomatic crisis between the two countries.
Apart from infusing badly needed investments into the veins of the Egyptian economy, Doha continues to widen its partnership with Cairo in the political field.
This comes at a time of unprecedented regional upheavals and conflicts, ones that, according to political analysts in Doha, make it necessary for influential Arab states to join forces to protect Arab interests.
"Cooperation between Egypt and Qatar acquires greater importance, especially in the light of current developments in the region and in the world," Qatari political analyst Jaber al-Harami told The New Arab.
"This cooperation is also important, given the heavy political weight of the two countries, something that qualifies them to play a role in putting an end to the region's problems," he added.
Cairo and Doha play a role in putting out flames in the Gaza Strip, where Israel continues to mount a lethal campaign that has so far claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, left tens of thousands of others injured and destroyed over 80% of the coastal territory's infrastructure, making it unliveable for many decades to come.
Together with the US, they sponsor indirect talks between the Gaza-ruling Hamas and Israel.
The three states succeeded in brokering a ceasefire and a hostage/prisoner exchange deal in mid-January this year.
Sorry to say, Israel sacrificed this ceasefire at the altar of its internal politics and the desire of its far-right government to keep the war raging on.
Investment magnet
In planning the implementation of the aforementioned tourist project on Egypt's northern Mediterranean coast, Qatar is apparently incentivised by the United Arab Emirates.
In February 2024, Egypt and the UAE signed a $35 billion agreement for the construction of a modern urban tourist project in Ras al-Hekma, a heavenly spot on the Egyptian Mediterranean coast.
To be named after the same area, the city to be established will house whatever it requires to be an irresistible international attraction: its own airport, amusement and recreational facilities, sports facilities and health centres, among many other things.
At the time of its signing, the Ras al-Hekma deal was viewed in Egypt as a win-win move, given that the Egyptian government would own around 35 percent of the project's stakes, which would bring in revenues for the Egyptian treasury as soon as it starts operating.
Investments within the project included the injection of fresh cash into the Egyptian treasury and a partial debt swap.
Whether the Qatari deal will follow the same path is not yet known.
Nevertheless, the deal speaks volumes about the current race for Egypt's North Coast by local and international investors, observers in Cairo said.
"The North Coast has become a real hotbed of investments," Khaled al-Shafie, the head of Egyptian think tank Capital Centre for Economic Studies, told TNA.
"This is a promising area that will attract yet more investments in the future," he added.
In attracting all these investments, the North Coast promises to outrival traditional beach tourism destinations in Egypt, including the world-famous Red Sea resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada.
To spotlight the North Coast's attractiveness as a future tourist destination, the Egyptian government is developing a modern city along the same coast in Alamein.
Together with other investments in the same area, the construction of this city was totally unimaginable a few years ago.
Alamein is a famous World War II site that contained hundreds of thousands of landmines, which hindered the area's development for many years.
The removal of these landmines also serves as a testament to Egypt's cooperation with the international community in the pursuit of development.
Critical time
The expected Egypt-Qatar deal comes at a tough time economically for Egypt, reflecting the flexibility and the importance of the partnership between Cairo and Doha.
Egypt continues to struggle under the effects of the war in Gaza on its economy. The Israel-Iran war, which is now widening in scope, is dealing the Egyptian economy additional blows.
So far, the war has caused the suspension of Israeli natural gas supplies to Egypt, with Israel shutting the Mediterranean gas field that provides Egypt with its gas needs.
Egypt and Qatar are mulling a long-term arrangement for the export of Qatari gas to Egypt.
The war has also negatively affected Egypt's industrial sector and caused the Egyptian pound to lose value for other foreign currencies.
When sealed, the new deal is expected to include the immediate disbursement of $1 billion to the Egyptian government, according to media reports.
This and other capital inflows are crucial for Egypt to mitigate the repercussions of the current regional turmoil, economists in Cairo said.
"Foreign investments are so crucial for the economy because they increase foreign currency revenues, which are important for stabilising the value of the national currency against foreign currencies," al-Shafie said.
"The same investments also contribute effectively to the stability of the overall economy, something that helps our country overcome the effects of the current regional turmoil," he added.