Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat discussed on Friday 04/06/2021 with Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov strengthening bilateral relations between Egypt and Russia on several fronts, including trade and investment, on the sidelines of the 24th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

Both ministers looked into possible areas for future cooperation in the energy, infrastructure, railways, mining, and oil and gas sectors.

They also explored the opportunity of Russian participation in the National Project of Grain Silos that aims to establish 50 silos for grain storage with the capacity of 1.2 million tons across 17 governorates in Egypt.

Al-Mashat and Reshetnikov also discussed the Free Trade Agreement between Egypt and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which can serve to present Egypt as a link between the EAEU and the African Union (AU).

The first round of negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement was between Egypt and Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia, in January 2019 in Cairo. The second round was held in Russia in April 2019, and the third round was held in October 2019 in Cairo, while the fourth round is expected to be held in the coming period.

During the bilateral talks, Al-Mashat expressed that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Egypt’s development efforts were not derailed but rather expedited, as the country was singled out and celebrated for its sound policy choices and partnerships that supported economic growth.

Al-Mashat said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that the Egyptian economy is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world with a positive GDP growth rate of 3.6% in 2020.

Pushing through a challenging 2021, Egypt is prevailing economically with a growth rate of 2.5% and is expected to grow by 5.7% in 2022, according to the IMF’s 2021 report on “World Economic Outlook: Managing Divergent Recoveries”.

One of the key reasons that the Egyptian government was able to cushion the socio-economic and health impacts of the pandemic, and achieve progress is the homegrown economic reform program (2016 to 2019), implemented in cooperation with the IMF, according to the minister.

The economic reform has positively impacted and pushed for monetary, fiscal, and structural reforms aiming to achieve macroeconomic stability and sustainable growth. The second phase of this reform program is centered around technology-intensive industries, agriculture, and information and communications technology.

In trade, Egypt is Russia’s top partner in Africa holding 83% of its African trade volume and 33% of its overall trade volume with Arab countries. There are also 472 Russian companies investing in Egypt, making up for $1 billion of issued share capital.

Egypt and Russia share a portfolio of bilateral cooperation that includes tourism, culture, electricity, energy, and petroleum; including various projects such as the Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant project. In the transportation sector, Russia supported Egypt by supplying and manufacturing over a thousand railway vehicles.

The two countries also signed a 50-year agreement that establishes a Russian Industrial Zone in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, attracting over $7 billion of investment and creating 35,000 jobs.

MENA