Market ratio: The EEC is ready to resume negotiations with Egypt on free trade
The Eurasian Economic Commission is ready to resume dialogue with Egypt on the free trade area (FTA), EEC Trade Minister Andrei Slepnev told Izvestia. In 2023, the parties agreed to zero duties on more than 95% of commodity items. However, there was no progress after that. Egypt is currently experiencing an economic crisis, so cooperation with the EAEU could contribute to export growth, experts say. It will also allow the country to strengthen its position in the region. For the EAEU, Cairo can become a hub for entering the markets of Africa and the Middle East through the Suez Canal. What products the countries of the association may be interested in and what other benefits Egypt will receive are described in the Izvestia article.
Free Trade Area negotiations with Egypt
The EEC is ready to resume negotiations with Egypt on a free trade area, Andrei Slepnev, Minister for Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission, told Izvestia.
— For now, we are on a break with Cairo, as the Egyptian side expressed the wish that it needs to conduct additional assessments and verification of balance sheets in the context of the economic situation that is developing in the world and, in particular, in Egypt. We are open to resuming the negotiation process at any time, and to finding, perhaps, new conditions and approaches in order to build cooperation. But the will of both sides is needed here, and as soon as the Egyptian side considers it possible to continue these negotiations, we will be happy to return to them," the minister said.
Andrey Slepnev, Minister of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission
Earlier, Mikael Aghasandyan, director of the first CIS Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that it would be possible to conclude an agreement between Egypt and the EAEU as soon as the parties come to mutually acceptable solutions to coordinate commodity positions. "It's hard to say when this will happen," Aghasandyan clarified.
Besides Russia, the EAEU also includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. However, it is unlikely that any of these countries can obstruct the union's rapprochement with Cairo. At the same time, Moscow specifically proposed, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, to restart negotiations on the FTA agreement between the EAEU and Egypt. "Negotiations were underway, we need to look at what happened to them and what needs to be done together here in order to remove barriers to our mutual trade as much as possible and create really convenient business conditions," he said.
The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council approved negotiations with Egypt on the creation of a free trade area back in 2016. By the end of 2024, the parties have held six rounds of negotiations on this issue. At the end of 2023, Slepnev called the agreement with Egypt ambitious, emphasizing that more than 95% of goods supplied to the country should be subject to zero duties. However, then the dialogue began to slip slightly. Although the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Anton Alikhanov, said back in August 2024 that the EAEU agreements on a free trade zone with the UAE, Indonesia and Egypt are in a high degree of elaboration. In the first case, the document was signed in June 2025, and it should be finalized with Indonesia by the end of the year.
In addition, the FTA agreement with Iran entered into force in May 2025. It immediately increased the trade turnover of the parties by 35%, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk noted in September. Also in November, the association will hold the first round of negotiations on the creation of a free trade area with India. There are other countries, including Thailand, that are interested in moving closer to the EAEU.
The main reason why Cairo slowed down the negotiations is political, orientalist Leonid Tsukanov explained to Izvestia. According to him, Egypt is forced to balance between the interests of the United States and the EU countries, which are not too interested in its rapprochement with the EAEU.
— In addition, the Egyptian authorities are under pressure from internal factors (damage to the economy due to tensions in the region, a decrease in food security), which forces the authorities of the Arab Republic to rely on already established networks and increase economic contacts with Europe. However, Cairo has not yet completely withdrawn from the FTA negotiations, leaving room for maneuver. This inspires hope that in the future the process will be unfrozen again," the expert concluded.
Egypt's prospects in the EAEU
The resumption of negotiations on a free trade area with the EAEU is a strategic opportunity for Cairo, Egyptian professor Wafa Ali believes. The cooperation gives the country access to the market of more than 180 million consumers, including Russia and Kazakhstan, and creates additional channels for the export of agricultural and textile products.
"Egypt is interesting for the EAEU as a large and fast—growing market, as well as as a supplier of fresh produce, cotton and chemical products," she told Izvestia.
According to her, the countries of the union will be able to diversify their supplies and gain access to goods that they have few or too expensive.
In addition, Egypt is one of the largest citrus exporters to Russia.
— This also applies to food products: fresh and processed vegetables, olive oil, spices, tea, fish and seafood. Therefore, Egypt is able to partially cover the demand of the EAEU, primarily for food products and light industry goods," Alexander Korolev, Deputy director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics, tells Izvestia.
At the same time, cooperation with the EAEU is also important for Egypt in terms of food security.
— On the one hand, this country has a growing population with good demographics, but on the other hand, it is experiencing an economic crisis. Egypt is the largest net importer of wheat and grain, and it is currently facing major problems in terms of food security. Therefore, the potential conclusion of an agreement on a free trade zone and a reduction in duty rates will contribute to the growth of exports of grain and agricultural products, the expert believes.
Egypt is also interested in importing machinery that is necessary for the organization of agro—industrial production, such as tractors, combines, trucks. Cairo also needs various equipment for the extraction and processing of hydrocarbons, metallurgical products, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers and petrochemicals.
Egypt for the EAEU can turn into a hub for the countries of the union to enter the markets of Africa and the Middle East through the Suez Canal. Cairo itself, cooperating with the states of the union, will receive investments, technologies and the opportunity to strengthen its geopolitical influence in the Middle East, the experts concluded.
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