عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Egypt Seeks to Launch Partnerships with Saudi Arabia in Productive Sectors

An Egyptian delegation, headed by the Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmad Samir, held a series of meetings with senior officials in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
An Egyptian delegation, headed by the Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmad Samir, held a series of meetings with senior officials in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
TT

Egypt Seeks to Launch Partnerships with Saudi Arabia in Productive Sectors

An Egyptian delegation, headed by the Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmad Samir, held a series of meetings with senior officials in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
An Egyptian delegation, headed by the Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmad Samir, held a series of meetings with senior officials in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmad Samir said his country is seeking to launch industrial partnerships with Saudi Arabia in a number of productive sectors with the aim of achieving industrial integration between Cairo and Riyadh, and strengthening joint cooperation frameworks.  

Samir emphasized the need to take advantage of the great potentials in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, mainly the specialized industrial cities, the availability of manpower, and production inputs, in order to secure the needs of the Egyptian and Saudi markets and promote exports to a large number of regional and global countries.  

The Egyptian minister concluded on Sunday an extensive visit to the Kingdom, where he met with a number of Saudi officials, including Minister of Industry and Mining Bandar AlKhorayef, Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi, Mohammad Abdulaziz, acting governor of the Foreign Trade Authority, Abdul-Rahman bin Sulaiman, Chairman of the Saudi Export Development Authority, and others.  

In a press statement, Samir said he discussed with Saudi officials ways to improve bilateral trade and investment relations, benefit from the great economic potential in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and translate them into tangible cooperation projects.  

The minister emphasized the need to enhance joint efforts to facilitate intra-trade movement. He noted that trade exchange between Egypt and Saudi Arabia surged 41.3% year-on-year in 2021, reaching around $4.572 billion in 2021, compared to $3.236 billion in 2020.  

He also revealed that Saudi investments in Egypt amounted to $6.12 billion in 6,017 projects in the fields of manufacturing, construction, tourism, agriculture, services, finance, telecommunication, and information technology.  

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

BP Nears Deals for Oil Fields, Curbs on Gas Flaring in Iraq

British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
TT
TT

BP Nears Deals for Oil Fields, Curbs on Gas Flaring in Iraq

British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)

Iraq and British oil giant BP are set to finalize a deal by early February to develop four oil fields in Kirkuk and curb gas flaring, Iraqi authorities announced Wednesday.

The mega-project in northern Iraq will include plans to recover flared gas to boost the country's electricity production, they said.

Gas flaring refers to the polluting practice of burning off excess gas during oil drilling. It is cheaper than capturing the associated gas.

The Iraqi government and BP signed a new memorandum of understanding in London late Tuesday, as Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and other senior ministers visit Britain to seal various trade and investment deals.

"The objective is to enhance production and achieve optimal targeted rates of oil and gas output," Sudani's office said in a statement.

Iraq's Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani told AFP after the new accord was signed that the project would increase the four oil fields' production to up to 500,000 barrels per day from about 350,000 bpd.

"The agreement commits both parties to sign a contract in the first week of February," he said.

Ghani noted the project will also target gas flaring.

Iraq has the third highest global rate of gas flaring, after Russia and Iran, having flared about 18 billion cubic meters of gas in 2023, according to the World Bank.

The Iraqi government has made eliminating the practice one of its priorities, with plans to curb 80 percent of flared gas by 2026 and to eliminate releases by 2028.

"It's not just a question of investing and increasing oil production... but also gas exploitation. We can no longer tolerate gas flaring, whatever the quantity," Ghani added.

"We need this gas, which Iraq currently imports from neighboring Iran. The government is making serious efforts to put an end to these imports."

Iraq is ultra-dependent on Iranian gas, which covers almost a third of Iraq's energy needs.

However, Teheran regularly cuts off its supply, exacerbating the power shortages that punctuate the daily lives of 45 million Iraqis.

BP is one of the biggest foreign players in Iraq's oil sector, with a history of producing oil in the country dating back to the 1920s when it was still under British mandate.

According to the World Bank, Iraq has 145 billion barrels of proven oil reserves -- among the largest in the world -- amounting to 96 years' worth of production at the current rate.