- She received the President of Egypt at the Cyprus pavilion at the 5th Egypt Petroleum Show
- She had a bilateral meeting with her Egyptian counterpart Mr. TarekElMolla - The priorities of the Cyprus Presidency of the EMGF
- On the sidelines of the EGYPS[/I]
- On the sidelines of the exhibitionhe met, among others, with her Israeli counterpart Ms Karine Elharrar-Hartstein
The Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry, Ms Natasha Pilidou, paid an official visit to Cairo today, Monday 14 February 2022. The Minister was accompanied in Egypt by the Director General of the Ministry Mr. Marios Panagidis and the Director of the Hydrocarbons Service Dr. Stelios Nikolaidis.
The Minister's visit came after she received an invitation from her Egyptian counterpart to participate in the 5th Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS), one of the most important regional events on oil and gas issues. The show hosts over 450 exhibitors and 260 speakers, and is expected to attract over 26 thousand participants from local and international companies, with the aim of identifying opportunities for strategic partnerships in the oil and gas sector.
Ms Pilidou attended the opening session of EGYPS and was invited by the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to cut the ribbon at the opening of the exhibition in his presence, a highly honourable act for Cyprus. Subsequently, as part of Mr Sisi's tour of the exhibition, Mrs Pileidou welcomed and guided the Egyptian President to the Cyprus exhibition area where companies and organisations active in the natural gas sector such as the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company, Invest Cyprus, Multimarine, Atlas Offshore, Hill International and the CMMI Centre of Excellence are participating. Welcoming President Sisi, the Minister noted that this is the third time that Cyprus is participating in the EGYPS international exhibition, stressing that this event demonstrates the strong will of the Republic of Cyprus to further deepen relations between the two countries in the energy sector, with the ultimate goal of enhancing energy security, interconnectivity in the region, as well as seeking investment opportunities for the development of the Mediterranean's natural resources.
In her intervention at the Ministerial Session which took place in the framework of EGYPS and in the session on "The Road to Recovery and the Dynamics of New Markets", with the participation of her counterparts from Egypt, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Ms. Pileidou referred to the developments in Cyprus regarding the energy programme, as well as Cyprus' planning and actions towards the green energy transition.
The Energy Minister also had a bilateral meeting with her Egyptian counterpart Mr. Tarek El Molla, during which the priorities of the Cypriot Presidency of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) for the year 2022 were agreed. The two Ministers also discussed the progress of the work of the technical groups on the Cyprus-Egypt gas pipeline.
The Minister also met with the Secretary General of the International Energy Forum, Mr. Joseph McMonigle. The discussions focused on regional cooperation within the framework of the EMGF and the smooth transition to green energy.
Issues concerning the progress of issues related to bilateral relations between the two countries were also discussed at a meeting between Ms. Pileidou and her Israeli counterpart Ms. Karine Elharrar-Hartstein. During the discussion, particular emphasis was placed on the EuroAsia Interconnector electricity interconnection project between Cyprus, Israel and Greece, which, as is known, was recently funded by the European funding agency "Connecting Europe Facility" with €657 million.The two Ministers also focused on other issues such as cooperation on green energy transition, renewable energy sources and hydrogen.
Ms. Pileidou is expected to return to Cyprus today. Tomorrow, the Director General of the Ministry of Energy, Mr Panagidis, and the Director of the Hydrocarbons Service, Dr Nicolaides, are expected to hold meetings with senior executives of companies operating in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Republic of Cyprus, namely Chevron, ENI and Shell. For his part, Panagides, as Chairman of the Executive Council for 2022, will chair tomorrow's 17th EMGF Executive Council Meeting.
(MGM)
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