Egypt and Saudi Arabia agree on $16bn investment fund

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi King Salman Bin Abdel Aziz on Saturday oversaw the signing of several agreements, including a $16bn investment fund, as the monarch visited Egypt for a third day.

The 80-year-old Saudi monarch's rare visit to Egypt has been seen as an overwhelming show of support for Sisi, the former military chief who toppled his Muslim Brotherhood predecessor Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Since touching down on Thursday, Salman and his delegation have announced a string of investments in Egypt, as well as a lavish plan to build a bridge over the Red Sea to connect the two countries.

On Saturday, the third of his five-day trip, Salman met Sisi at the historic Abdeen Palace in Cairo, where the two oversaw the inking of further deals Egypt hopes will boost its battered economy.

A live Egyptian state television broadcast showed an official announcing the agreements, signed by a representative of each country.

The two countries agreed "to set up a Saudi-Egyptian investment fund with a capital of 60 billion Saudi riyals ($16bn)," the announcer said, giving no further details.

More than a dozen other agreements, including a memorandum of understanding to set up an industrial zone in Egypt, were also announced.

Saudi Arabia has been a key backer of Sisi since the overthrow of Morsi, whose Muslim Brotherhood movement was viewed by Riyadh with suspicion.

It has since pumped billions of dollars in aid and investment into Egypt.