Simson arrived in Egypt on Monday in a short visit to follow up on the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the EU, Egypt, and Israel to support the REPowerEU Plan to reduce Europe's imports of Russian gas.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the EU's commissioner participation in Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS 2023) which opened on Sunday under the slogan “North Africa and the Mediterranean: Supporting Sustainable Global Energy Supply and Demand.”

The MOU is meant to secure Europe's needs of natural gas through East Mediterranean gas supplies.

The previous MoU, effective from 2018 to 2022, had achieved its objectives, Simson said.

El-Molla said the meeting took up projects of carbon reduction, methane reduction plans, as well as technical support to the Egyptian petroleum sector along with the transition to new and renewable energy.

He underlined the importance of cooperation with the European side in light of the rapid changes facing the energy market.

EGYPS 2023 is gathering government representatives and energy industry leaders from the African and Mediterranean regions to tackle energy transition.