Ministers from seven countries meet today in Cairo to sign the Foundation Charter of East Med Gas Forum (EMGF), aiming to upgrade the forum to the level of an international organisation.
Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan and Palestine are the founding members of the forum that aims to increase energy ties and boost the development of gas infrastructures in the region.
Cypriot Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis, who participates in the works of the forum, was authorized by the Cabinet on Wednesday to negotiate the Foundation Charter of the East Med Gas Forum, for its upgrade to the level of an international organization, in co-operation with the Foreign Ministry and the Legal Service.
As Lakkotrypis told the Press after the Cabinet’s meeting, the Foundation Charter of EMGF, once completed, should also be sent to the EU for its own comments, since three of the seven countries are also members of the EU (Cyprus, Greece, Italy).
The Minister added that during the forum, the World Bank will present a study on the options for exploiting the Eastern Mediterranean gas.
"One of the main goals of the East Med Gas Forum is to create a platform for energy dialogue between countries, whether they are producers, servers or consumers, in order to find the best ways to exploit and utilize the natural gas of the Eastern Mediterranean, " the Minister had said.
He also explained that Thursday’s discussions would be on the political level, following Wednesday’s technical discussions and that the forum would inevitably discuss the recent developments in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean.
According to a press release by the Ministry of Energy, the third ministerial meeting of EMGF will discuss among others the East Med Gas Infrastructure Corridor and the results of the deliberations of the Gas Industry Advisory Committee of the Forum. The Ministers will also approve a Joint Declaration.
The Minister returns home January 16.
cna.org.cy