PHOTO
Arab Finance: Egypt’s Minister of Transport Kamel El-Wazir signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Nikolai Patrushev, Aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chairman of the Russian Maritime Council, to enhance bilateral cooperation in maritime trade, as per a statement.
The agreement was signed during a meeting attended by Igor Levitin, Aide to the President of the Russian Federation, a high-level Russian delegation representing major companies in maritime transport, shipbuilding, and shipping lines, as well as Faiza Abou El-Naga, Advisor to the President of Egypt for National Security, and senior officials from the Ministry of Transport.
The talks focused on strengthening cooperation across maritime transport, infrastructure, and logistics, as well as developing a roadmap for joint projects, including the localization of maritime-related industries in Egypt.
El-Wazir said the discussions align with Egypt Vision 2030, which aims to leverage the country’s location on the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea, alongside the Suez Canal, to position Egypt as a regional hub for transport, logistics, and transit trade.
He noted that the ministry is implementing integrated logistics corridors linking production zones, seaports, and neighboring countries through modern transport systems, including high-speed electric rail.
The two sides discussed establishing a logistics corridor comprising two container terminals, one on the Mediterranean coast and another on the Red Sea, supported by an industrial and logistics zone.
The corridor would be connected to a shipping line linking Russian ports on the Black Sea with the Northern Sea Route. The proposed zone would support the storage and processing of Russian industrial goods, petroleum products, and grain.
Discussions also covered cooperation on establishing shipyards in Egypt, localizing commercial shipbuilding, facilitating maintenance services for Russian merchant vessels, and expanding maritime services infrastructure.
Patrushev said Egypt’s geographic position could support its role as a hub for shipping and exports to African and Middle Eastern markets, highlighting the potential to increase maritime links between the two countries.
He called for developing a joint roadmap covering cooperation in transport corridors, port infrastructure, logistics zones, and research centers related to oil, grain, and liquefied natural gas.
Representatives of Russian companies presented proposals, including launching new shipping lines between Egyptian and Russian ports, manufacturing marine equipment, building electric river vessels, and training maritime personnel through Russian institutions.
Both sides agreed that technical teams will meet in the coming period to develop a roadmap for implementing the proposed projects across the maritime transport and shipbuilding sectors.
