Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
Egypt and the United States have reaffirmed their commitment to deepening cooperation in the energy sector, with a strong focus on attracting American investment and expanding joint projects, during high-level talks held in Washington this week.
Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, met with U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright as part of an official visit aimed at strengthening bilateral energy ties. The meeting was attended by Egypt’s Ambassador to the United States, Moataz Zahran, along with senior officials and delegations from both countries.
The two sides emphasized the depth and durability of Egyptian-American relations and highlighted the strategic importance of sustained dialogue in the energy field. Discussions centered on boosting U.S. investment in Egypt’s energy sector, broadening areas of cooperation, and supporting joint efforts to enhance energy security at both the regional and global levels.
Egypt’s role as a regional hub for energy trade and logistics featured prominently in the talks. Officials underscored Cairo’s strategic geographic position and its extensive energy infrastructure, including liquefied natural gas facilities and pipeline networks, which enable Egypt to play a central role in the production, processing, and re-export of energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond.
The meeting reviewed ongoing cooperation between Egypt and leading U.S. energy companies, including Apache, Chevron, and ExxonMobil, as well as collaboration in the liquefied natural gas sector. Both sides also discussed progress on projects linking Cypriot gas fields to Egyptian infrastructure for transportation and re-export, highlighting the mutual economic and strategic benefits of these initiatives. In this context, officials noted continued progress in talks regarding the development and linkage of Cyprus’s Aphrodite gas field in cooperation with Chevron.
Beyond upstream oil and gas, the discussions explored opportunities to expand cooperation in refining, petrochemicals, and value-added industries. Egyptian officials stressed the importance of attracting greater U.S. participation in these sectors, which are seen as key to maximizing the economic returns from energy resources and supporting industrial growth.
The talks also addressed emerging areas of collaboration, including sustainable aviation fuel, with reference to the ongoing partnership with U.S.-based Honeywell. In addition, both sides examined prospects for cooperation in renewable energy, carbon reduction technologies, and emissions management, reflecting shared priorities related to energy transition and climate commitments.
Mining and critical minerals were another area of focus, as Egypt highlighted recent reforms and incentives introduced to modernize its mining sector and encourage foreign investment. The discussions also touched on European regulatory requirements, including the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and the need to align Egyptian value-added industries with international standards for reducing carbon footprints to maintain competitiveness in global markets.
The meeting was attended by senior Egyptian officials, including Samir Raslan, Assistant Minister for Agreements and Exploration, and Mohamed El-Bagouri, head of the Central Legal Affairs Administration at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
The talks reflect a broader effort by both Cairo and Washington to adapt their long-standing energy partnership to evolving global dynamics, balancing traditional oil and gas cooperation with new priorities such as sustainability, supply chain resilience, and energy security.
