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Egypt Signs MoU to Study Exporting 2GW Renewable Energy to Europe

An Egyptian family on a motorcycle in Cairo (epa)
An Egyptian family on a motorcycle in Cairo (epa)
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Egypt Signs MoU to Study Exporting 2GW Renewable Energy to Europe

An Egyptian family on a motorcycle in Cairo (epa)
An Egyptian family on a motorcycle in Cairo (epa)

The Egyptian government announced on Thursday that the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Belgian company Jan De Nul Group to study the feasibility of exporting renewable energy to Europe.
The MOU aims to conduct a joint study for implementing a 2 gigawatts (GW) subsea interconnection project to export renewable energy from Egypt to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea.
Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker declared that the agreement comes within the framework of strengthening the partnership in energy between Egypt and the European continent.
Shaker asserted that Egypt seeks to become a regional hub for energy trade.
The Egyptian move coincides with the European Union’s attempt to accelerate efforts to deepen its relationship with Egypt and help the country address the growing repercussions of the Israeli war on Gaza.
Bloomberg reported that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is planning to visit Cairo soon to support Egypt’s economic development and cushion the impact of the ongoing crisis.
The EU was already exploring a partnership but now wants to accelerate the push given Cairo’s strategic significance and concerns about increasing refugee flows, including from African nations like Sudan.
Von der Leyen will visit Egypt on Saturday and meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, her spokesman announced on Wednesday.
Sources said the plan will include half a dozen priorities ranging from economy and investments to migration and security.
On the economic front, the European bloc wants to explore options with member states to help Egypt address its heavy debt burden.
In addition, the EU will propose an investment plan aimed at mobilizing $9.8 billion in digital, energy, agriculture, and transportation with an investment forum planned for next spring.
The plan also seeks to reduce illegal immigration to Europe by helping Egypt manage its borders, anti-smuggling measures, and voluntary returns.

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IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
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IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East could have significant economic ramifications for the region and the global economy, but commodity prices remain below the highs of the past year.

IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack told a regular news briefing that the Fund is closely monitoring the situation in southern Lebanon with "grave concern" and offered condolences for the loss of life.

"The potential for further escalation of the conflict heightens risks and uncertainty and could have significant economic ramifications for the region and beyond," Kozack said.

According to Reuters, she said it was too early to predict specific impacts on the global economy, but noted that economies in the region have already suffered greatly, especially in Gaza, where the civilian population "faces dire socioeconomic conditions, a humanitarian crisis and insufficient aid deliveries.

The IMF estimates that Gaza's GDP declined 86% in the first half of 2024, Kozack said, while the West Bank's first-half GDP likely declined 25%, with prospects of a further deterioration.

Israel's GDP contracted by about 20% in the fourth quarter of 2023 after the conflict began, and the country has seen only a partial recovery in the first half of 2024, she added.
The IMF will update its economic projections for all countries and the global economy later in October when the global lender and World Bank hold their fall meetings in Washington.
"In Lebanon, the recent intensification of the conflict is exacerbating the country's already fragile macroeconomic and social situation," Kozack said, referring to Israel's airstrikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
"The conflict has inflicted a heavy human toll on the country, and it has damaged physical infrastructure."
The main channels for the conflict to impact the global economy have been through higher commodity prices, including oil and grains, as well as increased shipping costs, as vessels avoid potential missile attacks by Yemen's Houthis on vessels in the Red Sea, Kozack said. But commodity prices are currently lower than their peaks in the past year.
"I just emphasize once again that we're closely monitoring the situation, and this is a situation of great concern and very high uncertainty," she added.
Lebanon in 2022 reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on a potential loan program, but there has been insufficient progress on required reforms, Kozack said.
"We are prepared to engage with Lebanon on a possible financing program when the situation is appropriate to do so, but it would necessitate that the actions can be taken and decisive policy measures can be taken," Kozack added. "We are currently supporting Lebanon through capacity development assistance and other areas where possible."