The second day of the Prime Minister’s official visit began with the symbolic stop at the Mattei Garden Giorgia Meloni in Algeria. In the garden in the heart of Algiers, dedicated to the founder of ENI and inaugurated by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella in November 2021, the premier was accompanied by the Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines, Mohamed Arkab, and by the Italian ambassador in Algiers , John Pugliese. The ceremony was also attended by the CEO of Eni, among others, Claudio Descalziand the president of Confindustria, Charles Bonomi.
Upon his arrival, Meloni was offered dates and milk by three children in traditional Algerian dress. Then the prime minister stopped in recollection in front of the plaque on which Enrico Mattei is described as an “Italian personality, friend of the Algerian revolution, tenacious and convinced defender of freedom and democratic values, committed to the independence of the Algerian people and the completion of the his sovereignty”.
The President of the Council Giorgia Meloni arrived at the El Mouradia Presidential Palace for the official meeting with the President of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, Abdelmadjid Tebboune. The premier was welcomed by the guard of honor and by Tebboune himself. After the meeting between the Algerian head of state and the Prime Minister, a signing ceremony of the cooperation agreements is scheduled. On the first day of her visit, the premier ha laid a wreath at the Martyr’s Monument.
“I thank the Algerian president and the entire government for this welcome, not surprisingly the first bilateral mission that the new government intended to carry out, demonstrating how much theAlgeria is a reliable partner and of absolute strategic importance. The mission takes place on the anniversary of the signing of the treaty of friendship and good neighborliness signed in 2003 in Algiers. We celebrate the anniversary by signing a joint declaration that underlines the excellence of our relations, but we don’t want to stop there” said the premier. “We want to experiment with new fields of this collaboration, strengthen it in the energy, political and cultural fields. We are aiming for a partnership to increase growth prospects, with a view to building bridges between the shores of the Mediterranean and stabilizing the region, which is strategic for Italy and Europe. We need a Mattei plan for Africa, on an equal basis with the countries of the southern shore of the Mediterranean to transform crises into opportunities” added Prime Minister Meloni.
“Giorgia Meloni’s visit is of particular importance, 20 years after the signing of the cooperation treaty, and I wish to express my satisfaction with the level of strategic relations between the two friendly countries“. This was stated by the Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune during the press conference. Tebboune recalled the growth of trade between Rome and Algiers to 16 billion dollars in 2022. “In this regard, we have reiterated that we will strengthen collaboration in the energy sector and for Italian investments”, she said. The Algerian president then underlined the identity of views with Italy on various issues. “We agree on support for the UN mission to resolve the Western Sahara issue”. Among other things, Tebboune referred to the Palestinian state and the need for it to have its place within the United Nations.
Confindustria signs partnership
Confindustria today signs a partnership protocol with the Algerian Economic Renewal Council (CREA), one of Algeria’s largest employers’ organisations. Crea himself made it known on his Facebook page. The council held a working session with a delegation from Confindustria, led by its president, Carlo Bonomi. During the session, “a joint roadmap was drawn up between the two organizations for the rapid implementation of the partnership protocol, which we will sign today, in the presence of the President of the Council of Ministers (Algerian) and the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy. Cooperation Italo-Algerian is a real opportunity to achieve the desired economic development”, concludes the post.
Agreement on space cooperation
Space cooperation between Italy and Algeria is at the heart of a Memorandum of Understanding between the space agencies of the two countries, signed on the occasion of the official visit to Algiers by the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. The Memorandum of Understanding is concluded within the framework of the Treaty on the principles governing the activities of States in the field of exploration and use of outer space including the Moon and other celestial bodies. Areas of cooperation include: space science and space exploration; technology applied to space; Earth observation and training. The cooperation will be implemented through the exchange of knowledge on the subject, the organization of seminars and workshops, the development of projects of mutual interest and the organization of training activities. The agreement was signed by the president of ASI Giorgio Saccoccia and the general director of Asal Azzedine Oussedik.
Hydrogen pipeline
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Algeria and increasing energy exports to Italy, including through a new hydrogen gas pipeline: these are the objectives of the two memorandums of understanding signed by Eni and Sonatrach on the occasion of the official visit to Algiers of the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The first of the two memorandums, signed by Eni’s CEO Claudio Descalzi and Sonatrach’s chairman and general manager Toufik Hakkar, aims to jointly identify possible activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Algeria, and the best technologies to use. The Agreement also envisages joint projects on the reduction of CO2 emissions in hydrocarbon production facilities in Algeria. The second memorandum, for the enhancement of the energy interconnection network between the two countries for a sustainable energy transition, aims to identify the best opportunities to increase energy exports from Algeria to Italy, through the joint study on increasing the existing gas transport capacity, the construction of a new gas pipeline also for the transport of hydrogen, the laying of an underwater electric cable and the increase in the capacity to produce liquefied gas.
Descalzi: “With the bottleneck in southern Italy, the hub is only potential”
“Since all the gas comes from the South, if we have a bottleneck between Campania, Abruzzo and Molise, the concept of hub is potential, we do not enter kinetic energy. It is a great potential that is not expressed”. Eni’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi, said this when answering those who asked him whether it is realistic for Italy to become an energy hub in the Mediterranean, on the sidelines of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s visit to the Mattei Garden in Algiers. Descalzi underlined that “a maximum of 126 million cubic meters per day can arrive from the South, this is the bottleneck and we are almost at the limit”.
Source: Ansa
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