Cairo / Istanbul – Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, held a series of high-level meetings with Turkish officials and leading mining and energy companies to expand bilateral cooperation and attract fresh investment into Egypt’s mining sector.
The meetings took place on the sidelines of the OECD Critical Minerals Forum in Istanbul, where Badawi engaged with key stakeholders to explore partnership opportunities, exchange technical expertise, and position Egypt as a competitive destination for mining investment.
In discussions with executives from major Turkish mining firms, including OZ Minerals, the minister reviewed progress on previous engagements with the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority and stressed the importance of building on existing cooperation frameworks. He highlighted Egypt’s recent regulatory reforms aimed at enhancing transparency and boosting investor confidence, supported by the country’s strategic location linking Africa, Europe, and Asia, as well as its advanced infrastructure and logistics network.
Badawi underscored the need to maximise the value of Egypt’s mineral resources by expanding into downstream industries and mineral processing, rather than focusing solely on extraction. He also emphasised the importance of developing human capital through training and knowledge transfer in line with international best practices.
In a separate meeting with officials from Tüprag Mining, a subsidiary of Canada’s Eldorado Gold, the minister pointed to Egypt’s strong potential in gold exploration, citing ongoing legislative and investment climate reforms. He highlighted the Sukari Gold Mine as one of the world’s top 15 gold mines, describing it as a successful model that could be replicated given Egypt’s significant geological potential.
The discussions also extended to the renewable energy sector, where Badawi met with representatives of Sanko Energy to outline Egypt’s plans to accelerate renewable energy deployment. He reaffirmed the government’s target to generate 42% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030, in coordination with the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, as part of broader efforts to reduce emissions and enhance energy efficiency across the oil and gas sector.
Separately, Badawi held bilateral talks with Alparslan Bayraktar, Türkiye’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, to deepen cooperation in mining and energy. The two sides discussed establishing joint working groups to explore opportunities in mineral exploration, regulatory frameworks, and geological survey technologies.
The ministers also reviewed prospects for collaboration in the Eastern Mediterranean gas sector, focusing on optimising the use of existing infrastructure in both countries to enhance energy security and regional integration. Discussions further covered energy transition strategies, hydrogen development, and low-carbon solutions, aligning with Egypt’s Vision 2030 and Türkiye’s energy roadmap.
Both sides emphasised the importance of strengthening private sector partnerships to implement joint projects in mining and energy, signalling growing momentum in Egypt-Türkiye economic relations.
