Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi used this week’s ADIPEC energy summit in Abu Dhabi — the Middle East's largest oil and gas gathering — to court foreign investors and sign new deals amid declining domestic gas output.

Running Nov. 3-6, ADIPEC is expected to attract around 200,000 attendees, including energy ministers, senior officials, and executives from the world’s leading oil and gas companies.

What happened: On the conference sidelines on Tuesday, Badawi met with Haitham Al Ghais, secretary general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, to deepen cooperation between Egypt and the cartel. Egypt is not one of the 13 members of the group, but it is an energy-rich observer state that attends OPEC meetings and can weigh in on oil market policy. According to Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry, the meeting explored information exchange and technical collaboration, particularly in exploration and field development. 

Badawi also met with US Secretary of the Interior and Chairman of the National Energy Dominance Council Doug Burgum on Monday, according to another Petroleum Ministry statement.