Venue: Halls 3–4, International Exhibition Centre Kazan Expo, Kazan

Time: May 19, 2023, 13:00–14:20

Organizers: Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation

Moderator: Amr Abdel Hamid, General Director of TEN TV Channel

Speakers:

Alexey Tevanyan, Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the Arab Republic of Egypt;

Ahmed Mustafa, Director of the Institute of Asian Studies;

Nourhan Sheikh, Professor of Political Sciences, member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, expert on Russia;

Ezzat Saad, Deputy Chairman of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs;

Ali Helmi Eissa, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Egyptian Businessmen’s Association;

Alexander Voronkov, Regional Vice-President of Rosatom State Corporation, Director of Rosatom Middle East North Africa;

Vladimir Potemkin, Deputy Governor of Kaluga Region;

Mikhail Kovrigin, Director of the International Settlements Department of the Bank of Russia;

Dmitry Prokhorenko, Director for Foreign Network Development of Russian Export Centre JSC;

Roman Chekushov, Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Licensing in the Field of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation;

Konstantin Kim, Director of the Information and Analytical Centre for Foreign Trade Activities, an Autonomous Non-Commercial Organization of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation;

Mikhail Orlov, Chairman of the Russian-Egyptian Business Council;

Nazih Al Naggari, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the Russian Federation;

Ekaterina Abasheeva, Deputy Head of the Financial Market Strategy, the Financial Market Development Department of the Bank of Russia.

The changing system of international relations and the confrontation between the West and Russia force the latter to modify the geography of economic ties and the structure of logistics chains. In Africa, the country that the Russian Federation relies on in the context of restructuring foreign economic relations is the Arab Republic of Egypt.

In addition to a major project in the field of nuclear power – the US $ 30 billion construction of the El-Dabaa NPP, Egypt imports large volumes of grain (more than 5 million tons annually worth US $ 1.8 billion) and railway equipment (1,300 passenger cars worth euro 1 billion). This cooperation has even broader prospects in the context of projects for the establishment of a Russian industrial zone, a grain terminal in the Suez Economic Zone, and the introduction of mutual settlements in national currencies. Roman Chekushov, Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Licensing in the Field of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, noted: “We have restarted the project of the Russian industrial zone in Egypt, and as early as the end of May more than 40 companies will go on a business mission to Cairo to consider on the spot the possibility to locate their production facilities on the territory of the Suez Canal Economic Zone.”

For the Russian business, Egypt is a potential “gate to Africa” because of its connections with the continent based on preferential trade agreements of integration nature; also it is interesting as a geographically convenient channel for parallel import from European countries and re-exports in the opposite direction.

Alexey Tevanyan, Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the Arab Republic of Egypt, stressed that Egypt did not support Western sanctions against Russia, and supplies of Russian products to the Egyptian market continue. The launch of a free trade zone between Egypt and the EAEU is being discussed. The countries see that trading in national currencies is of mutual benefit. Alexey Tevanyan especially noted the area of cooperation in educational sphere. More than 15 thousand students from Egypt are studying in Russia now, and the admission quota for 2024 will double. Departments of Russian language are being opened in Egypt as well.