Connecting Israel's power grid with other regional economies would boost energy security for the entire Middle East, according to Steinitz.
During the CERAWeek virtual meeting 1-5 march, 2021 Israeli energy minister said:
During the CERAWeek virtual meeting 1-5 march, 2021 Israeli energy minister said:
- Just one example, if we are able to connect our electricity transmission systems between Egypt, Israel and the UAE - and perhaps through Jordan and Saudi Arabia - and also negotiate to connect to Europe through Cyprus and Greece, we would achieve better energy security than we have known in the past;
- It is a new Middle East - especially in the field of energy, the establishment of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum in Cairo is a testimony to the new atmosphere.
The Israeli energy minister met with his Egyptian counterpart, Tarek El-Molla, in February.
During the visit, the 2 leaders agreed to build a pipeline to connect Israel's Leviathan gas field with LNG terminals in northern Egypt, which would facilitate exports to Europe.
Steinitz's remarks come in the context of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF).
The EMGF was set up to develop a coordinated approach to the extraction of natural reserves off the coasts of Cyprus, Egypt and Israel.
Its members aim to engage the private sector and financial institutions to improve the prospects for profitable exploitation of gas reserves.
Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Italy signed the organisation's founding charter in January 2020, and the UAE has since joined.
Its creation came in response to tension in the eastern Mediterranean over Turkey's exploration for gas in waters it disputes with Cyprus and Greece, for which Ankara is excluded from negotiations.
