CAIRO — While in Cyprus, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed July 31 with his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides bilateral cooperation in oil fields in the eastern Mediterranean.

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez stated July 31 that boosting cooperation in all economic fields, particularly in the energy sector, was raised during the talks. He said that Shoukry indicated that the consecutive gas discoveries in the eastern Mediterranean are of major importance in promoting a strong partnership between Egypt and Cyprus.

Shoukry also expressed hope that the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF), whose second ministerial meeting was held July 25 in Cairo, would serve as another driving force for cooperation and for the coordination of policies between Egypt and Cyprus and other countries in the region.

During the July 25 meeting in Cairo, Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek el-Mulla, and his Cypriot, Greek, Israeli, Italian and Palestinian counterparts, as well as the representative of the Jordanian minister of energy and mineral resources, agreed on Cairo as the seat of the EMGF. The forum is designed to boost regional cooperation in the energy sector to exploit the region’s resources and pave the way for a sustainable regional gas market.