Averting a potential Israeli escalation was not the sole focus of Egypt’s recent diplomatic engagements with Lebanon. Cairo has also moved to open the door to economic cooperation with Beirut across several sectors, most notably energy and electricity.
This broader agenda helps explain Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly’s visit to Beirut last week, which followed a trip by Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty to Lebanon on Nov. 26, as well as meetings held in late October between Egyptian General Intelligence chief Hassan Rashad and Lebanese officials.
During his meetings in Beirut with President Joseph Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Madbouly stressed that Lebanon is going through a period fraught with challenges, but one that also offers genuine opportunities for reconstruction. He emphasized that Egypt’s experience in implementing a comprehensive economic reform program in recent years provides a practical model for recovery.
On trade relations, Madbouly noted that bilateral trade between Egypt and Lebanon has grown over the past four years, surpassing $1 billion in 2024. However, he said the figure still falls short of the two countries’ ambitions and economic potential, underscoring the need to remove obstacles and deepen economic cooperation.
Last month, the Lebanese prime minister visited Cairo, where the two countries signed 15 cooperation agreements covering a wide range of sectors, including trade and investment, food security and safety, electricity and renewable energy, industry, oil and gas, and reconstruction.
Energy Cooperation
Energy—particularly electricity—stands out as one of the most promising areas for future cooperation between Egypt and Lebanon. But launching and sustaining large-scale joint projects in this sector will require overcoming several structural and logistical obstacles.
Cairo has expressed clear interest in working with Beirut in this vital field, whether through support for conventional power projects or through expansion into renewable energy, drawing on Egypt’s experience in power generation, grid management, and clean energy development. Such cooperation is seen as a key pillar for improving Lebanon’s infrastructure, enhancing economic stability, and lowering production costs for industrial and service sectors.
Reconstruction—especially in southern Lebanon—has also emerged as a priority, given the urgent need for infrastructure projects in electricity, water, roads, and telecommunications. Egyptian companies have reportedly expressed interest in playing an active role in implementing these projects.
In this context, Lebanese economist Pierre Khoury told Alhurra that opportunities to strengthen partnerships between the two countries are significant, due to the relative complementarity between Egypt’s economy—driven by economies of scale and production capacity—and Lebanon’s service-based economy, human capital, and sectoral expertise.
Khoury explained that joint gas and electricity agreements typically operate through bilateral or trilateral frameworks, either via direct government channels or through national companies, under international technical and financial oversight. These arrangements are often based on long-term supply or transit contracts. He said this approach reinforces Egypt’s role as a regional energy hub while providing Lebanon with a relatively structured energy source that eases pressure on public finances and helps restore economic activity.
Challenges and Future Prospects
Lebanon has suffered from a chronic electricity crisis for years, exacerbated by economic contraction and eroded production capacity. The country’s power grids and high-voltage transmission lines are also in poor condition, with weak maintenance, complicating efforts to connect Lebanon to regional grids or import electricity from Egypt or other neighboring states.
For many observers, these challenges underscore the importance of partnerships with regional companies capable of bringing the expertise and resources needed to overcome the crisis.
Egyptian economist Mohamed Anis told Alhurra that Madbouly’s visit highlights the importance of Lebanon’s energy file and also carries a political dimension. He said the move reflects direct Egyptian support for the sector.
Anis emphasized that “Egypt does not view cooperation in this area through a profit-maximization lens as much as it seeks to help Lebanon recover its energy sector,” noting that any Egyptian support, regardless of scale, remains limited relative to the magnitude of Lebanon’s crisis.
Lebanese economist Bassem Al-Bawab echoed that view, telling Alhurra that economic cooperation between Egypt and Lebanon has become an urgent necessity, with energy and gas among the most critical areas for partnership. He pointed to what he described as a genuine desire for strategic cooperation, especially given Lebanon’s promising oil and gas resources, which could form the basis for a future energy partnership with Egypt. He also noted that regional shifts—including developments in Syria—could open new horizons for economic cooperation benefiting both countries.
In a related development, Lebanon last month signed a maritime border demarcation agreement with Cyprus, a step aimed at enabling offshore gas exploration and strengthening energy cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Anis said such border agreements allow Egypt to enter partnerships within its capabilities, while also providing technical assistance and support that serve Lebanon’s interests and contribute to developing its energy sector.
Khoury stressed that reforming Lebanon’s electricity sector—one of the largest drains on public finances—has become an urgent, unavoidable imperative. He concluded that economic cooperation between Egypt and Lebanon, particularly in energy, cannot be separated from an internal reform path that redefines the Lebanese state’s role from an ineffective financier to an effective regulator.
Until such reforms take hold, opportunities for energy cooperation between Egypt and Lebanon remain significant. Fully capitalizing on them through productive projects, however, will require sustained follow-up and additional efforts, supported by improved security and political conditions in Lebanon and across the region.
