Roman Marshavin has highlighted technology exchange, infrastructure protection and enlarging the Gas Exporting Countries Forum

Russia and Algeria have agreed to step up coordination in the energy sector, pledging closer collaboration within OPEC+ and the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) as well as joint projects in electricity and resource development, the Russian Energy Ministry reported on Tuesday.

The announcement followed talks in Algiers between Russian Deputy Energy Minister Roman Marshavin and his Algerian counterpart Mohamed Arkab.

"Among the main priorities that we consider important to promote jointly are the facilitation of free trade in energy resources, technology exchange, protection of critical infrastructure, as well as the expansion of GECF membership and its dialogue partners, including the SCO, APEC, and other forums," Marshavin stated.

According to Moscow's Energy Ministry, Algeria invited Russian companies to participate in upcoming oil and gas exploration tenders and in power generation projects.

On the sidelines of the 4th Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2025) in Algiers, Marshavin met energy executives and pointed to opportunities for scientific and technical cooperation with Russian partners. He also congratulated Georges Elombi on his election as Afreximbank President and invited him to participate in Russian Energy Week 2025, which will take place in Moscow on October 15-17.

Russia has strengthened its energy cooperation with African countries in recent years. At the 2023 Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg, Putin announced that more than 30 energy projects with a combined capacity of about 3.7 gigawatts were ongoing across the continent. 

In Algeria, Gazprom International has been developing the El Assel project since 2008. In 2021-22, a development plan for the Rhourde Sayah and Rhourde Sayah Nord fields was approved by the national hydrocarbons agency ALNAFT.

Algiers has been bolstering ties with Moscow in recent years as part of efforts to diversify its economy amid deteriorating relations with Paris. In May, Algeria officially became a member of the New Development Bank (NDB), the financial institution established by the BRICS group of nations.

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Earlier this month, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev stated that Moscow is ready to expand mutual supplies of agricultural products and is interested in increasing exports of mineral fertilizers to Algeria.