Egypt is looking to expand energy cooperation with Turkey, which is already one of the largest importers of Egyptian gas, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry said.
Shoukry’s remarks came during an interview aired on Tuesday with TRT World on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
On the same day, during his speech at the UNGA, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasized the progress in Egypt-Turkey relations.
Erdogan said that Ankara and Cairo “have entered a period in which we have started to develop our relations in all fields, which were stagnant for a while.”
“We are determined to advance our cooperation on the basis of mutual benefit in this new period,” the Turkish president said.
Then-Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu announced in March that Turkey wants to make a “long-term [liquified natural gas] agreement.”
Egypt’s exports to Turkey grew by 32.3 percent to $4 billion in 2022 from $3 billion in 2021, according to official figures.
In August, Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir said Egypt plans to increase the volume of bilateral trade with Turkey from $10 billion to $15 billion over the next five years.
In July, Egypt and Turkey upgraded their diplomatic relations to the ambassadorial level as the two countries moved forward with measures to restore relations on all levels, ending a ten-year rift.
Also during the interview, Shoukry noted that Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, hosted in Egypt, can help address the growing need for gas in Europe due to the Ukrainian-Russian conflict.
The rise in energy prices has also impacted Egypt Egypt, Shoukry explained, adding that Egypt depends on energy imports, which are helping to drive inflation.
However, Shoukry stressed the importance of lessening Egypt’s dependence on fossil fuels and converting to renewable energy in hopes that this might offset some of the rise in energy costs.
Source: Ahram Online