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Egypt, Israel, EU sign deal to boost East Mediterranean gas exports to Europe amid Ukraine war

Published

2 years ago

June 16, 2022

Egypt, Israel, and the European Union have signed a tripartite deal to increase liquified natural gas sales to EU countries aimed at reducing the dependence on supply from Russia due to the war currently ongoing in Ukraine.

The North African country struck the lucrative deal with Israel and the EU on Wednesday which will see it receive more Israeli gas to liquify it for export through the Mediterranean Sea.

During a joint press conference whicu had Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson, Israel’s Energy Minister Karin Elharrar, the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum, Tarek el-Molla, amongst others, the EU chief reiterrated the block’s ambition to end its reliance on Russian engery as a result of the Ukrainian war.

“I very warmly welcome the signing of this historic agreement. We want to get rid of this dependency. We want to diversify to trustworthy suppliers, and Egypt is a trustworthy partner ” Simson said.

After the signing ceremony, el-Sissi told reporters the agreement was a very important step in placing Egypt as an important energy hub.

“Today we are already taking a very important step, as we have in the morning signed a memorandum of understanding of natural gas delivery from Israel to Egypt; here the liquefying of the gas, and then the transport to the European Union. But also for Egypt, to become a regional energy hub.”

Details of the deal provides that the EU will help Egypt and Israel increase their gas production and exploration in their territorial waters but it remains unclear how much gas the EU will import from either country.

Last year alone. the European Union imported roughly 40% of its gas from Russia but has been forced to look elsewhere as sanctions have continued to mount on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.

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VenturesNow

IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

3 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.