Russia, Egypt boast "outstanding" energy ties: Russian energy minister

Amr Yehia from Saint Petersburg, Tuesday 24 Jun 2025

Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilyov told Ahram Online that cooperation between Russian and Egyptian partners in the energy sector is "outstanding."

Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilyov
Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilyov. Al-Ahram.

 

Tsivilyov's remarks came on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), held from June 18-21 and organised by the Roscongress Foundation.

He added that the SPIEF is an important platform for energy companies to meet and develop collaboration.

This year's forum was themed "Shared Values: The Foundation of Growth in a Multipolar World."

"Our goal is to help as much as possible," Tsivilyov said, adding that Russia would "sum up the results of SPIEF 2025 to try to help our companies improve their relations at the level of energy ministers with our Egyptian partners."

"Our task as a government is to make sure that this cooperation becomes efficient," he continued.

Commenting on regional tensions, Tsivilyov stated that the recent escalations in the Middle East, the Iranian-Israeli conflicts have an impact on the energy market and side effects."

"We have a negative attitude to all the conflicts in the world. We believe that all these conflicts should be resolved diplomatically and should not lead to a direct confrontation," he added.

Tsivilyov noted that any efficient cooperation in the economic sphere affects the conflict positively and makes sure that it ends sooner.

Efficient work in this area would ensure fewer conflicts. Policy is the continuation of the economy. The worst expression of policy is war. We are going to work even harder to improve our relationship and broaden our cooperation."

Tsivilyov highlighted the importance of global energy security, saying that amid the growing demand for energy security and stability in Europe and Asia, global energy security is the foundation for sustainable supply chains.

He acknowledged that the world now has serious changes and challenges in the area of energy and that the rising demand for energy and new tech creates challenges for the whole chain of energy production.

 

Highlighting the energy transition's role, the Russian minister said it would be responsible for developing all countries and improving the quality of life.

He emphasised this as a responsibility to future generations, noting that proper energy sector development needs to positively impact national development.

"We are now establishing the core principles that will be the basis of energy of the future," he noted, adding, "We believe future energy production must be rooted in energy justice.”

The minister noted that the expansion of energy should be driven by the development of renewable sources, not solely by CO2 emissions.

He also added that energy planning should consider several factors, including each country's "specific standard of living and technological development."

"Each country needs to ensure its energy security," he said. Energy accessibility "should be built for both the people and for production," and must be "not only technically but financially accessible" so people can afford it.

Energy, he stressed, should be efficient and "help develop the country and raise the standard of living."

Additionally, he stressed that energy should consider environmental protection, saying, "That's why the concept of energy justice is multifaceted.

Regarding Russia’s position in the energy market amid shifting global alliances and sanctions, Russia remains open to cooperation in the energy sector with all partners, he added.  

“Energy is the basis of the development of all economies. Energy is the basis of the improvement of life quality of all the entire population of the world.  Now we have to develop our own technology. Before that, we had to use technologies built up by the West,” he noted.

He added that Russia’s access to foreign technology was restricted, but this has created new opportunities for self-reliance, underlining that his country now possesses over 80 percent of the technologies used globally.

Russia, he added, targets producing 100 percent of all the technologies locally, ensuring these technologies meet or exceed Western standards.

“This is the technological sovereignty our President has set as a goal for us,” he noted. However, he affirmed that no single nation can achieve this alone; it requires collaboration with friendly countries.

Russia is ready to share its technologies with all friendly countries to foster collective sovereignty based on energy justice, which includes accessibility of new technologies for every country, and access to financial instruments.

Commenting on the ongoing global energy transition, he said Russia believes BRICS countries now hold a special role and can together build a multipolar world, one that respects the unique circumstances and needs of each nation.

Russia is actively collaborating with BRICS energy ministers to advance this vision, added Tsivilyov.

Last year, during the Russian Energy Week in Moscow, BRICS energy ministers met and signed a joint communiqué outlining shared principles for the energy transition.

This marked the first steps toward establishing a framework for fair energy access.

On May 19 in Brazil, BRICS energy ministers reconvened to further refine these principles, particularly the concept of energy justice.

Tsivilyov said the bloc also developed a concrete agenda for the development of the BRICS energy sectors.

“Now, at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, we are continuing this work.”

He spotlighted energy inequality, particularly in Africa. “We know the challenges that African countries face, where 600 million people do not have access to energy. More than 1 million people do not have an opportunity to cook food using pure energy.”

“We are prepared to cooperate so we can solve these issues together with the African countries by discussing the most efficient strategies so that we can provide improvements as soon as possible,” he added.

 

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