MOSCOW, June 14. /TASS/. The launch of the Russian industrial zone in the Suez Canal will be possible after the last remaining process of ratification of the protocol to the agreement by the Egyptian parliament, Russian Ambassador to Cairo Georgy Borisenko said in an interview with TASS.
"This March when a regular meeting of the Russian-Egyptian intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation took place in Egypt, a protocol on amendments to the 2018 agreement on the creation of the Russian industrial zone in the Suez Canal was signed," the diplomat said. "At the moment, the protocol signed in March is undergoing the ratification procedure in the Egyptian parliament. From the Russian side, no such procedure is required. As soon as this is completed in Egypt, it will be possible to start work on the exploration of fields for the Russian industrial zone, particularly the construction of workshops and access roads," he added.
The key amendments made by the protocol suggest that the zone will consist of two parts, Borisenko said. "One part is in the north of the Suez Canal, near Port Said, on the eastern shore of the Suez Canal. Another part of the zone is in the southern end of the Suez Canal, in the area of the city of Ain Sukhna. Consequently, Russian producers will be able to choose the most convenient location for their production, near the Mediterranean Sea or the Red Sea, depending on what they want to do with their products, where to bring them," he explained.
Moreover, another important addition in the protocol is the possibility for producers to bring up to 100% of their products to the local market, the diplomat added. "Not necessarily all 100%, this will be solved in each particular case on any particular category of goods, though such an option has appeared now," he said.