Minister El Molla, distinguished guests,

I'm thrilled to be here today.

At a geographical crossroads linking all parts of the Mediterranean.

And at an energy crossroads just as much.

The past year, time and again, we have had to rethink what we know about our global energy markets.

Despite this, our focus remains on two pillars for a thriving energy future – security and sustainability.

And I'm going to speak about both today.

First by looking at where we are. And then by speaking about where we are going.

I don't need to tell you that in the current geopolitical context energy security is top of our minds.

And energy relations have never been more important than they are today.

The EU is serious about investing in trusted, reliable energy partnerships. That describes Egypt perfectly.

In the immediate wake of the crisis a year ago, the very first energy agreement the EU concluded was the Memorandum of Understanding with Egypt and Israel on trade, transport and natural gas cooperation.

Concluded in record time.

A remarkable political milestone for energy.

And something we are very proud of. And let me say again today how grateful I am to both Egypt and Israel, for their cooperation to turn the political vision of mutual cooperation into a reality.

Building new partnership is key as the EU is moving away from gas supplies from Russia. For us, Russia is not a reliable energy partner. Time and again it has tried to manipulate the EU energy markets and use energy as a source of blackmail. That means that the EU's relationship with Russia is broken. This however creates a window of opportunity for the EU's trusted partners. 

Thanks to the landmark agreement with Egypt and Israel, at the height of the energy crisis the EU could count on this partnership.

And it was central to our efforts to diversify and stabilise the supplies for our citizens.

As we ramp up LNG supplies even further and deepen Euro-Mediterranean LNG markets, the EU is recognising Egypt's role growing into a regional gas hub.

On the EU side, we have created our first ever EU Energy Platform. Soon, we will launch our joint purchasing scheme covering about 13.5 billion cubic metres of gas. LNG markets are the main target of our scheme, and it goes without saying that this is a significant opportunity to strengthen our energy ties even further.

So this is an overview of where we are. Despite the crisis, we need to keep a firm eye on where we are going.

How do we turn this crisis into a foundation for a more sustainable energy future?

How to build longer-term partnerships in line with the green transition? The answer is to create energy partnership that go beyond natural gas.

In this spirit last year, we concluded a Strategic Partnership on Renewable Hydrogen with Egypt. The first country to do so. 

We believe renewable hydrogen is not just a way to reduce emissions, it's also a door to industrial cooperation and sustainable economic growth. No matter what side of the Mediterranean Sea we come from, this has to be an important consideration for our future energy actions.

Because economic growth and decarbonisation go hand in hand.

Investment is key, of course. So we will be promoting investments on the ground for production, storage, distribution and transport of hydrogen all along the value chain.

In the long run, the EU hydrogen strategy, means that the natural gas infrastructure will have the potential to be used even when the role of natural gas in our economies will significant diminish.  

In the short and medium terms, the EU is wiling to work with our trusted partners to frontier CCUS and methane emission reductions.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We know we need to decarbonise globally. We have made it clear in the EU that reaching net zero is our end goal.

That said, we know that we need gas as a transition energy source over the next decades. Natural gas will be one of the central enablers to help us reach a decarbonised society. In order to keep our societies safe, secure with the energy we need while we transition to net zero. This is the reality we keep in mind as we foster our partnerships with those outside the EU.

Ladies and gentlemen, Ministers,

Whether we are talking about our energy present or our energy future, one important factor underpins both: strong partnership.

That is the partnership that the EU enjoys with Egypt today. I am looking forward to working with Egypt in the longer-term.

Thank you.