Egypt's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla and Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz discussed on Sunday ways of boosting cooperation to maintain the energy security of both countries.

The ministers agreed to prepare an agreement aiming to link the Leviathan gas field with Egypt's liquefying natural gas units through marine pipelines, the petroleum ministry said in a statement.

They reaffirmed their support for the establishment of a coherent and strong energy infrastructure in the Eastern Mediterranean to maximise the region's natural gas resources and reserves, it added.

The two ministers also stressed the importance of contributing to the 2030 goals of the United Nations and the Global Climate Agreement to reduce harmful emissions by 2050.

They also discussed ways to increase Palestinians’ energy independence, including developing a Gaza marine field, the establishment of a power plant in Jenin, and supplying natural gas to the Palestinians.

This is the first visit for an Egyptian minister to Israel since 2016.

Earlier on Sunday, El-Molla headed to Ramallah and Jerusalem to have talks with his counterparts over the East Mediterranean Gas Forum, the petroleum ministry said.

According to the statement issued by the ministry, El-Molla met and held talks with Mohamed Mustafa, the adviser to the Palestinian President for economic affairs in Ramallah, and Steinitz in Jerusalem to support the goals and efforts of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum.

“The visit aims to crystalise a common vision and a systematic dialogue to develop a regional market, as the forum’s charter [comes into effect] in a way that supports the member states’ efforts to invest their gas reserves and use the existing and future infrastructure through fruitful and constructive cooperation,” the statement read.

The Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum’s founding countries include Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Jordan, and Italy.