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Barzani, Johnson Discuss Energy Exports to Replace Russian Oil, Gas

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson holding talks with Kurdish PM Masrour Barzani in London on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (EPA)
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson holding talks with Kurdish PM Masrour Barzani in London on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (EPA)
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Barzani, Johnson Discuss Energy Exports to Replace Russian Oil, Gas

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson holding talks with Kurdish PM Masrour Barzani in London on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (EPA)
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson holding talks with Kurdish PM Masrour Barzani in London on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (EPA)

Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani spoke with his British counterpart Boris Johnson about his desire to export energy to Europe and reduce reliance on Russian oil and gas, Reuters reported.

“Prime Minister Barzani spoke about his aspiration to export energy to Europe, and the Prime Minister (Johnson) lauded his efforts to help reduce Western reliance on Russian oil and gas,” a British government readout of a meeting between the two in London said.

In late March, Barzani told an industry conference in Dubai that Kurdistan would soon become an important source of energy.

“I am confident that Kurdistan will soon become an important source of energy for the world's growing demand,” he stressed.

He affirmed that Kurdistan has capacity now to make up for at least some of the shortfalls of oil in Europe.

“We will become a net exporter of gas to the rest of Iraq, to Turkey and Europe in the near future,” he added.

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Arab World

Tebboune Elected to Serve Second Term Leading Algeria

Officials count the ballots at an electoral office after the end of voting in the presidential elections, in Algiers, Algeria, 07 September 2024. (EPA)
Officials count the ballots at an electoral office after the end of voting in the presidential elections, in Algiers, Algeria, 07 September 2024. (EPA)
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Tebboune Elected to Serve Second Term Leading Algeria

Officials count the ballots at an electoral office after the end of voting in the presidential elections, in Algiers, Algeria, 07 September 2024. (EPA)
Officials count the ballots at an electoral office after the end of voting in the presidential elections, in Algiers, Algeria, 07 September 2024. (EPA)

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has been named the winner of Algeria's presidential election, granting him another term leading the gas-rich North African nation five years after protests led to the ouster of his predecessor.

In a result that surprised few observers internationally or in Algeria, the country's independent election authority on Sunday announced that Tebboune had won 94% of the vote, far outpacing his challengers Abdelali Hassani Cherif, who won 3% and socialist Youcef Aouchiche, who won 2.1%.

Election officials reported less than six million of the country's 24 million voters had turned out to vote on Saturday, perpetuating the low voter turnout rates that marred Tebboune's first term and raised questions about his popular support.

Algeria is Africa's largest country by area and, with almost 45 million people, it's the continent's second most populous after South Africa to hold presidential elections in 2024 — a year in which more than 50 elections are being held worldwide, encompassing more than half the world's population.

Throughout the campaign, activists and international organizations, including Amnesty International, railed against the campaign season's repressive atmosphere and the harassment and prosecutions of those involved in opposition parties, media organizations and civil society groups. Some denounced this election as a rubber stamp exercise that can only entrench the status quo.

But Tebboune and his two challengers each urged political participation and specifically made overtures to the Algerian youth, who make up a majority of the population and disproportionately suffer from poverty and unemployment.