First Visit by Egyptian Minister to Israel in 5 Years

Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla meets Israeli PM Netanyahu. (Israeli PM’s office)
Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla meets Israeli PM Netanyahu. (Israeli PM’s office)
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First Visit by Egyptian Minister to Israel in 5 Years

Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla meets Israeli PM Netanyahu. (Israeli PM’s office)
Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla meets Israeli PM Netanyahu. (Israeli PM’s office)

Tel Aviv and Cairo have agreed to expand cooperation in the energy field.

The announcement was made during a visit by Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla to Israel on Sunday.

The Egyptian minister’s visit marked the first public visit to Israel by a senior Egyptian government official in five years.

“This is an important day, marking our continued cooperation on energy and so many other things,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon receiving Molla.

“This began of course with the historic peace treaty between Egypt and Israel but is turning into something that can economically improve people’s lives.”

“We think that this is a great opportunity for regional cooperation among Egypt, Israel and the other countries,” he added.

“We are an energy hub. Together we can supply not only our own needs, but the needs of many other countries. So it is in this spirit of friendship and cooperation and peace and prosperity that I welcome you to Israel,” Netanyahu noted.

The meeting between Netanyahu and Molla was attended by Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat, Israel’s envoy to Egypt Amira Oron, Egyptian envoy to Israel Khaled Azmi, and Magdy Galal, chair of the state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, which manages Egyptian state shares in gas projects.

Steinitz welcomed his guest and said he was “happy and excited” to host Molla, the first Egyptian minister to visit Israel since 2016.

Molla’s visit focused on extending a pipeline linking Israel to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, in addition to developing gas fields and cooperation in gas exploration, and promoting the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF).

Egypt, Israel, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority established the EMGF as an intergovernmental organization in September 2020. In December, the United Arab Emirates joined the Forum as an observer.

Egypt has been seeking to transform itself into a regional energy hub through the forum, which aims to establish a regional gas market, rationalize the cost of infrastructure and offer competitive prices.

Egypt began importing Israeli gas in early 2020, for possible re-export to Europe or Asia.

The 2015 discovery of the giant offshore Zohr field had unlocked interest in Egypt’s energy market and encouraged Cairo to promote itself as a regional hub.

Molla also signed a memorandum of understanding for Egypt to help develop the Gaza Marine field with the project’s two partners, the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign fund of the Palestinian Authority, and Consolidated Contractors Company.

They agreed to cooperate on developing the field and the necessary infrastructure that would provide Palestine’s needs of natural gas with the possibility of exporting part of it to Egypt.

The MoU was signed by Magdy Galal and advisor to the Palestinian President for Economic Affairs and Chairman of the PIF Board of Directors Mohamed Mustafa.



Egypt Makes Progress in its Nuclear Energy Project

Construction work at the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant. (Egyptian Nuclear Power Plants Authority)
Construction work at the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant. (Egyptian Nuclear Power Plants Authority)
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Egypt Makes Progress in its Nuclear Energy Project

Construction work at the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant. (Egyptian Nuclear Power Plants Authority)
Construction work at the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant. (Egyptian Nuclear Power Plants Authority)

Egypt has reported significant progress in the construction of the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant in the country’s northwest, a project being developed in cooperation with Russia. The government announced on Tuesday that more than 20% of the project has been completed.

Egypt and Russia signed a cooperation agreement on November 19, 2015, to establish the nuclear power station at a cost of $25 billion, funded through a Russian government loan. The final agreements for El-Dabaa were signed in December 2017.

The plant will consist of four nuclear reactors with a total generation capacity of 4,800 megawatts, each producing 1,200 megawatts. The first reactor is scheduled to begin operations in 2028, with the remaining units coming online gradually as part of Egypt’s energy mix.

In its quarterly performance report, the Egyptian government stated that the project aligns with efforts to expand the peaceful use of nuclear energy within the national power grid.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi emphasized in November the importance of executing energy projects efficiently and on schedule, calling them a pillar of Egypt’s development strategy. He underscored the need to adhere to the project timeline while ensuring the highest standards of execution and workforce training.

Also in November, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly reaffirmed Egypt’s commitment to the project, stating that El-Dabaa would enhance renewable energy capacity and stabilize the national power grid.

In early March, Russia’s Atomstroyexport announced that construction on the second reactor at El-Dabaa had progressed ahead of schedule. According to the Egyptian Nuclear Power Plants Authority, the second tier of the inner containment structure had been installed at the reactor building.

Egypt experienced widespread power outages last summer, which ended in late July after securing sufficient fuel supplies for its power plants.

The El-Dabaa project is part of Egypt’s strategy to diversify its energy sources, generate electricity to meet domestic demand, and reduce reliance on imported gas and other fuels.

On Tuesday, the government also announced an additional 200 megawatts of private-sector solar power capacity as part of its efforts to expand renewable energy. Officials said the move would support energy diversification and advance the country’s sustainable development strategy.