Lithuania and Egypt are negotiating a contract for direct regular flights

“We appreciate the intensifying cooperation with Egypt in the field of maritime and air transport and hope to further strengthen it. We have great potential to develop the transport and logistics connections of both regions, developing green and smart shipping and innovation. The transport connections of both countries are particularly important for increasing the volume of bilateral trade, as well as for forming new global cargo transportation routes,” said Minister of Communications M. Skuodis.

During his visit to Egypt, meeting with the country’s Minister of Transport Kamel Al Wazir, Minister of Communication and Information Technologies Amr Talaat and Minister of Civil Aviation Mohamed Abbas Helmy Hashem, the Minister of Transport M. Skuodis presented the Lithuanian transport sector and its opportunities, and called for further expansion of mutual transport and logistics connections , cooperation in the fields of air transportation, maritime transport, digitization, innovation, and postal services.

Minister M. Skuodis also invited Egypt to join the organization of the International Transport Forum, currently chaired by Lithuania. The International Transport Forum, which currently unites 66 countries from around the world, will be joined by Saudi Arabia, Oman, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic at the summit in Leipzig (Germany) this May.

At the meetings, the ministers of Lithuania and Egypt also discussed the conclusion of an air transport agreement, which would open the way for regular direct flights between Lithuania and Egypt, which are of interest to air carriers and tour operators. M. Skuodis invited the Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister MA Helmy to come to Vilnius and sign this contract this year.

Egypt is one of the most popular destinations for travelers from Lithuania on the African continent, and the tourism sector is an extremely significant part of the Egyptian economy. In 2023, only about 154 thousand people traveled on chartered flights from Lithuanian airports to the main resorts of Egypt (Hurgad, Sharm el-Sheikh, Marsa Alam). passengers. Flights between Lithuania and Egypt accounted for 17.5 percent. of all charter flights operated at Lithuanian airports.

Negotiations between the Ministry of Transport and the Egyptian Ministry of Transport for the conclusion of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of maritime transport are also underway. The draft memorandum envisages the strengthening of cooperation between ports, the exchange of experience in the fields of strengthening shipping safety and pollution prevention, and the development of cooperation on issues of the international agenda.

During his visit to Egypt, M. Skuodis will also visit the seaport of Alexandria, where he will get acquainted with the capacities of the port’s terminals and will invite the managers of the port of Alexandria to organize a visit to the port of Klaipėda and sign a memorandum of cooperation between the ports.

According to the volume of direct shipping in the port of Klaipėda, Egypt ranks 21st. Last year, a total of 327,000 tons of cargo were transported to and from Egypt through the port of Klaipėda. cargo, mainly (38%) – grain and other agricultural products.

Last year, a total of 327,000 tons of cargo were transported to and from Egypt through the port of Klaipėda. cargo, mainly (38%) – grain and other agricultural products.

2024-2027 234 million is planned to be invested in the infrastructure development of Klaipėda port. euros. Among the port’s biggest projects are the development of up to 100 ha of new territory in the southern part of the port, the deepening of the shipping channel to a depth of 17 m, as well as the infrastructure of the offshore wind power plant loading and assembly terminal, which is important for Lithuania’s plans to build 1.4 GW offshore wind power parks in the Baltic Sea. It is aimed that by 2028 The port of Klaipėda would become the main platform for the assembly of offshore wind power plants and their components.

M. Skuodis is on a working visit to Egypt on April 22-24.

Photo information of the Ministry of Transport