Algeria and Egypt have concluded, in Cairo, a memorandum of understanding for the development of their cooperation in the fields of oil, gas and mining, said a statement from the Algerian Ministry of Energy and Mines.
The document was signed by the Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines, Mohamed Arkab and his Egyptian counterpart, Tarek El Molla, on the sidelines of the 24th ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), held in the Egyptian capital, the same source said.
The memorandum provides, in addition to the marketing of LPG gas and exploration in the field of oil and gas, to create a joint company to carry out engineering studies in the field of energy. The future company, the same source said, could extend its activities to other African countries.
Before proceeding to the signature of this agreement, Mohamed Arkab held a face-to-face meeting with the Egyptian Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources, during which the two officials reviewed the state of bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy and mining and discussed the opportunities offered for its development.
"They also reviewed the activities of the bilateral working group in the field of energy and mining, set up by the two ministers in June 2022," the statement said. This group, the same document recalled, has worked on the identification of priority areas of cooperation of common interest to the two countries.
"A roadmap has been drawn up for the identification of concrete projects to be implemented by the companies of the two countries, notably in the fields of the marketing of hydrocarbons, notably LPG, upstream oil and gas, processing industries, notably petrochemicals, mining, oil and gas services, research and engineering and hydrogen," the statement said.
In his speech to the GECF meeting, the Algerian minister stressed the need to give "natural gas an important place in sustainable development and energy transition".
At the same time, Mohamed Arkab gave an overview of the ongoing preparations for the 7th Summit of GECF Heads of State and Government, which will be held in Algiers in 2023. The 24th GECF Ministerial Meeting was attended by Energy Ministers and senior officials from GECF Member States (Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela), as well as from observer countries (Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Mozambique, Norway, Peru and the United Arab Emirates).