Minister of Energy of Israel in Greece to discuss cooperation
The Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water of Israel, Dr. Yuval Steinitz, will visit Athens on Wednesday September 28th, where he will hold high level discussions aimed at further promoting energy cooperation with Greece and Cyprus.
Specifically, Dr. Steinitz will hold bilateral meetings with the Greek Minister of the Environment and Energy, Mr. Panos Skourletis, and the Cypriot Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Mr. Giorgos Lakkotrypis. He will also participate in a trilateral meeting with both his counterparts. Talks will focus on Israel’s cooperation with Greece and Cyprus in the fields of natural gas, electricity and renewable energy sources, both on a bilateral and trilateral level. Furthermore, the Israeli Minister of Energy will address the 2nd Global Oil & Gas South East Europe and Mediterranean Exhibition and Conference being held in Athens.
In the past, Dr. Steinitz has served as Israel’s Minister of Finance and Minister of Strategic and Intelligence Affairs responsible for International Relations.
Minister Steinitz’s visit is taking place in the framework of growing deliberations and cooperation in energy issues between Israel-Greece-Cyprus. The leaders of the three states, Prime Ministers Benjamin Netanyahu, Alexis Tsipras and President Nikos Anastasiadis, agreed to expand energy cooperation at a trilateral leadership summit in Nicosia in January of this year. This was followed by a meeting in April of the Secretary Generals responsible for energy of the three countries in Jerusalem. Another meeting of the Secretary Generals will take place in Athens on October 26th.
In August, the Greek based international energy company, “Energean Oil & Gas,” signed a deal for the purchase of 100% of holdings in Israel’s “Karish” and “Tanin” natural gas fields from Delek Drilling and Avner, part of Israel’s leading integrated energy company. The deal is estimated to be valued at $148m, which reflects return of Delek Drilling and Avner’s investment and future royalties from the expected sales of gas and condensate from the reservoirs.
Last week, a delegation of the Green Energy Association of Israel headed by its Director General, Mr. Eitan Parnass, visited Athens to discuss cooperation with Greek government officials, organizations and businesses dealing with green energy and renewables. The visit was organized by the Embassy of Israel in Greece.
SOURCE: Embassy of Israel
PHOTO: pixabay
