In reserve: Russia will help Egypt become a grain and energy hub

Moscow and Cairo are considering the creation of grain and energy hubs in Egypt. This topic, in particular, was discussed at a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Badr Abdelati, who arrived in Moscow. For Egypt, cooperation with Russia plays an important role in the context of the war in the Middle East, which, in fact, stopped the flow of cargo through the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, Moscow and Cairo are able to jointly contribute to de-escalation in the region. What the Russian leader and the Minister of Foreign Affairs exchanged in the Kremlin is in the Izvestia article.

Why did the Egyptian Foreign Minister fly to Moscow

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelati has arrived in Moscow on a working visit. As Vladimir Putin noted at the beginning of the talks, he has a "busy program." In particular, he will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on April 3.

"We have a lot of good plans, and a lot is being implemented today," the Russian leader added.

Vladimir Putin had a phone call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on March 31. Through the Foreign Minister, the Russian leader conveyed to his Egyptian counterpart an invitation to attend the Russia—Africa summit, which will be held in October this year in Russia. The Egyptian delegation will participate, Abdelati confirmed. However, al-Sisi's arrival is in doubt due to the war in the Middle East.

Badr Abdelati, in turn, conveyed gratitude to Vladimir Putin for the construction of the Al-Dabaa nuclear power plant, as well as a written message from the Egyptian president.

— We are very grateful to you and grateful for your support in ensuring energy security, as well as food security in Egypt and in our region. We are very grateful to you for this support," said the Foreign Minister of the Republic.

The actual closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the Middle East crisis has hit Egypt, in particular, the cost of gasoline and diesel, as well as LNG, has increased. President al-Sisi had previously warned that disrupting oil flows from the Gulf would reduce traffic and revenue from the Suez Canal, one of Cairo's main sources of profit.

Since March 28, a curfew for businesses has been imposed in the republic for a month — cafes, shopping malls, bazaars and pyramids are closed at 21:00, government offices at 18:00, and street lighting has been reduced. The goal is to save approximately $50 million per month.

Russia is able to offer Egypt real support in times of crisis: to increase exports of oil and petroleum products, as well as LNG.

The situation in the Middle East is of concern to the Russian Federation. At the same time, Moscow, according to the head of the Russian Federation, is ready to do everything to normalize the situation. Egypt is one of the countries that are currently making active mediation efforts. According to orientalist Leonid Tsukanov, Cairo is promoting the idea of managing the Strait of Hormuz "according to the Suez model" — with payment and security guarantees.

But the question arises of who to pay and who should guarantee the absence of risks. In this case, there is no solution yet, since Iran wants to fully maintain control over this route. At the same time, it is difficult to imagine that, for example, the monarchies of the Persian Gulf will be willing to pay Tehran for passage.

Meanwhile, Moscow and Cairo have a lot of common ground on the crisis in the Middle East, Leonid Tsukanov told Izvestia. In his opinion, they can work together to reduce tension. Vladimir Putin, who is in constant contact with the main players in the Middle East crisis, phoned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud on March 31.

Nevertheless, the risk of escalation remains if the United States decides to launch a ground operation or attempts to militarily unblock the Strait of Hormuz. This, as Larisa Alyoshina, an associate professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, noted, will lead to the collapse of energy supply in the Middle East.

Creation of grain and energy hubs

Earlier, the Russian President instructed the government to work with Egyptian colleagues on the supply of food products to the republic, primarily grain.

— I want to say that last year we had a good result in agriculture, a good harvest. We don't have any problems with supplies, we won't," Putin said at a meeting with Abdelati.

In 2025, Russia retained the first place in wheat exports in the world — the country supplied 41 million tons to world markets.

Vladimir Putin also invited the Foreign Minister to discuss the creation of grain and energy hubs in Egypt. The first is a large logistics center. It includes warehouse infrastructure, sorting and processing facilities, and routes for further distribution across regions, Yulia Ogloblina, Deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Agrarian Issues, explained to Izvestia.

It can become a grain storage and transshipment center for the Middle East and Africa. These markets are promising for Russian exports. The parties are considering its creation in the area of Port Said, Dumyat or Sokhna - all three cities have strategic access to the sea, she noted. In particular, Port Said is located at the northern end of the Suez Canal.

According to Ogloblina, the energy hub is a separate but logically related initiative. Egypt has been actively promoting itself as a regional energy center in recent years, relying on advanced technologies and large-scale energy storage projects. As part of this strategy, the country has built several interconnections with neighboring countries.

In October 2024, Egypt signed an official agreement with Saudi Arabia on the exchange of electricity through a high-voltage line, its length reaches 1,350 km, and investments in the project amount to $1.8 billion. In addition, Russia's construction of the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant will add an additional 4.8 GW of low-carbon energy to Egypt, strengthening the country's status as a hub and expanding opportunities for exporting electricity to the region.