Türkiye, Egypt boost ties with historic energy deals

Türkiye and Egypt have signed two historic agreements aimed at strengthening their cooperation in the field of oil and gas.

The deals were signed after a meeting between Egypt's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi and Türkiye's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar in Ankara.

One of the agreements allows a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) owned by Türkiye's state firm, Turkish Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ), to operate in Egypt, which will be its first-ever operation abroad.

"We held a meeting with Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Mr. Karim Badawi and his delegation at our Ministry. After the meeting, we signed two important agreements that will strengthen our cooperation in the field of energy on the 100th anniversary of Türkiye-Egypt diplomatic relations," Türkiye's Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said after the signing of the agreements on Tuesday.

"We signed the Memorandum of Understanding, which brings our cooperation in the fields of hydrocarbons and mining to an institutional basis. In this context, we will increase the sharing of technical knowledge and expertise in strategic areas such as oil, natural gas, geothermal, hydrogen, and critical minerals," he said.

"With the contract signed between our national company BOTAŞ and Egypt's public energy company EGAS, an FSRU in the inventory of BOTAŞ will serve abroad periodically for the first time," Bayraktar added.

Growing ties

The minister said the arrangement will enhance energy security for both Egypt and Türkiye. "Thus, a flexible and efficient utilization model that will contribute to the natural gas supply security of both our country and Egypt will be put into operation."

Diplomatic and economic relations between Türkiye and Egypt have strengthened in recent years, with Ankara and Cairo planning to increase their bilateral trade volume from $10 billion to $15 billion within a few years.

In September 2024, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi visited Ankara following an invitation by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had visited Cairo in February.

During el-Sisi's visit, President Erdogan said the two countries had reaffirmed their will to "advance cooperation in all areas."

On his part, President el-Sisi stressed that his visit to Türkiye paved "the way for a new phase in economic and trade relations."