CAIRO: Israel and Egypt plan to boost gas exports to Europe under an agreement inked during a Cairo visit on Wednesday by the European Commission chairman as the bloc seeks to wean itself off Russian gas.
Ursula von der Leyen also pledged relief worth 100 million euros ($104 million) for food security in Egypt, which has been reeling from grain dearths as a result of the Ukraine war.
“ Russia’s war against Ukraine has exposed our European reliance on Russian reactionary energies, and we want to get relieve of this reliance, ” von der Leyen told a common press conference with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al- Sisi.
“ We want to diversify to secure suppliers, and Egypt is a secure mate. ” She had pledged on Tuesday, during a visit to Israel, to defy Russia for its use of fossil energies to “ blackmail ” European countries.
The memorandum of understanding on gas exports between Egypt, Israel and the EU was inked at the East Mediterranean Gas Forum, the Egyptian petroleum ministry said.
Under a corner $15 billion deal in 2020, Israel formerly exports gas from an coastal field to Egypt, where it’s thawed and packed to European countries.
But a significant increase in gas exports from Israel via Egypt would bear major long- term structure investments.
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Von der Leyen also said Egypt had sun and wind power, “ the powers of the future ”, in cornucopia, and that the EU and Egypt concertedly exploring them was in “ our common interest ”.
Von der Leyen pledged “ immediate relief of 100 million euros ” to support food security in Egypt, the Arab world’s most vibrant country, which has reckoned on Russia and Ukraine for over 80 percent of its wheat.
“ It’s veritably important that then we stand together, encyclopedically, to manage this food security extremity, that we find results that are fair for everybody, that we look at the distribution of grain, for illustration, worldwide, and that we really have an emphasis on vulnerable countries, ” von der Leyen said.
She also pledged three billion euros in “ husbandry and nutrition, water and sanitation programmes over the coming times then in the region ”.
“ The European Union is veritably interested in investing in the original food product, ” she said.
“ It’s so important for us that in the region, the product of food is bettered and increased, and therefore the reliance from other regions is reduced, ” she said.
“ Over time this will insure stable inventories of quality and affordable food for all. Egypt will be at the heart of this major shift. ” Sisi said von der Leyen’s first sanctioned visit builds on the recent “ violent instigation ” of Egyptian relations with the EU.
During her Israel visit, von der Leyen had indicted Moscow of designedly cutting off gas supplied to European countries “ in retribution for our support to Ukraine ”.
“ This is a big step forward in the energy force to Europe, but also for Egypt to come a indigenous energy mecca, ” she said in Cairo.
