He described the meeting as very important .. Netanyahu receives the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum in his office in Jerusalem

Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Israel.

Al-Mulla said that he and his Israeli counterpart began years ago to expand cooperation in the energy field, which was strengthened by the establishment of the "Middle East Gas Authority."

For his part, Netanyahu said that the region is witnessing a new era of peace and development, following the conclusion of "Abraham Agreements" with countries in the region.

Netanyahu described the meeting as very important, and that it symbolizes the continuous cooperation between Cairo and Tel Aviv in several fields, including energy.

He said that these agreements will have economic benefits for the peoples of the region, and that they constitute a great opportunity for regional cooperation between Egypt, Israel and other countries, especially after Israel has become an energy center and can cover its needs and supply the countries of the region, he said.

The two governments are moving forward with the pipeline extension plan and are working to reach a formal agreement (social media)

Pipeline

In a related context, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz considered that Al Mulla's visit is historic, given that the export of natural gas from Israel to Egypt is considered the most important thing in the field of economic cooperation between Egypt and Israel since the signing of the peace agreement between them 40 years ago.

Steinitz said today, Sunday, that he had agreed with his Egyptian counterpart to extend a pipeline to link the Israeli offshore Leviathan field for natural gas with liquefaction plants in northern Egypt.

The Israeli minister said that the two governments are proceeding with the plan to extend the pipeline, and are working to reach a formal agreement.

It is noteworthy that the meeting was attended by the Israeli ambassador to Cairo, the Egyptian ambassador in Tel Aviv, the head of the Israeli National Security Authority, Meir Bin Shabat, and the head of the Egyptian Gas Company, Magdy Galal.

In September 2020, an agreement was signed to launch the East Mediterranean Gas Forum, which includes Israel, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Cyprus, and Palestine, which was absent from the signing ceremony.

In January 2020, Egypt officially began importing Israeli gas, and according to agreements, Israel will export 85 billion cubic meters of gas to Egypt over a period of 15 years.