Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi met on Sunday with Claudio Descalzi, the CEO of the Italian oil and gas company Eni, and other senior officials of the company. The meeting was attended by Tarek El-Molla, the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. Descalzi presented the latest developments in Eni's activities in Egypt and said that Eni and its partners intend to make new investments in Egypt in the next four years, worth $7.7bn. He said that these investments are part of Eni's commitment to enhance its successful projects in Egypt. He also reviewed the plans for exploration and development that Eni will undertake, as well as the progress made in energy efficiency and sustainability projects related to the energy transition, in line with the memorandum of understanding signed in March 2023. The official spokesperson of the Presidency, Ahmed Fahmy, said that President Al-Sisi appreciated the strong Egyptian-Italian relations, the long-standing partnership with Eni, and the various activities that Eni carries out in Egypt according to the highest international standards. He expressed his hope to continue the fruitful cooperation between Egypt and Eni in the fields of exploration, development, production, and energy transition, to achieve optimal utilization of Egypt's energy resources and enhance the great successes achieved in this regard over the past few years. Eni's CEO Descalzi expressed his pride in cooperating with Egypt, given the close ties between Egypt and Italy. He stressed the great importance of Egypt as one of the most important markets for Eni's activity and work worldwide, in light of the promising opportunities offered by the energy sector in Egypt. In another meeting on Sunday, President Al-Sisi met with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly; Mohamed Zaki, the Minister of Defence and Military Production; Abbas Kamel, the Head of General Intelligence Service; Mahmoud Tawfik, the Minister of Interior; and Mohamed Abdel Fadil Shusha, the Governor of North Sinai. The meeting discussed the progress of development efforts in North Sinai. The president ordered that these efforts aim to create an advanced and integrated development path that matches the importance and specificity of Sinai's unique position. He also stressed the need for coordination among all ministries and state bodies to support these efforts. The president also reviewed the measures and efforts taken in Sinai over the past years to restore security and stability, which paved the way for implementing the state's development vision and national projects in Sinai. He said that these projects aim to provide a decent life and a decent standard of living for the people of Sinai.
