Egypt is a Major Hub for Electrical Interconnection in the World: An Economic Presence that Paves the Way for Political Gains
Published by: Radwa Ramadan Abdel-Fattah Sherif
From Iraq to Jordan and Lebanon in the northeast, then to Saudi Arabia in the east, Libya in the west, Africa in the south, Greece, and last but not least Cyprus in the north, Egypt leads power grids in Asia, Africa and Europe.
Egyptian efforts culminated in intangible efforts on the ground, as the Minister of Petroleum, Eng. Tarek El- Molla, stressed that an integrated 3-axis strategy is being implemented to turn Egypt into a regional energy and energy trading hub in the region and this came to implement the National Electricity Strategy of Egypt by 2035 that aims for Egypt to become an energy center between the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa.
Egyptians are working around the world to restore the country’s role by instilling its presence in the Middle East in Europe. Egypt re-signed memoranda of understanding with Cyprus and Greece to provide electricity to Athens and Europe.
The ninth tripartite summit between Egypt, Greece and Cyprus, held on October 19, follows the earlier signing of energy interconnection contracts between Egypt and Saudi Arabia as part of Egypt’s efforts to promote the dream of an “Arab market of energy “in years thanks to electrical energy interconnection between Arab countries and each other.
Interconnection projects achieve economic benefits since financial savings are estimated in millions of dollars annually, eliminating the need to build new power plants, in addition to solving the electricity crisis in countries affected by blackouts.
Egyptian movements and strong economic presence that Egypt seeks aim to diversify Cairo’s diplomatic instruments to achieve political and economic goals in the face of regional and international challenges, perhaps the most famous of which are the Middle East disputes, and especially the Turkish disputes. .
More than the diplomatic gate protected by force, the energy supply of the European continent is not limited to the political benefit for Egypt. The diversification of the European Union’s energy sources is a strategic security, as it previously relied heavily on Siberian gas in Russia and therefore the European Union countries need new allies in North Africa to counter ongoing Russian pressure as it supports Egypt as energy Center, either with electricity or gas.
Conclusion
Egypt knows its goals and is jointly exploiting politics and business to regain a historical role that has been absent for years, but is determined to give back more than the violently guarded diplomatic door, without limiting itself to Egypt’s political gain. Europe used to rely heavily on Siberian gas from Russia, so the European Union countries in North Africa find themselves relying on new allies to counter constant pressure from Russia as they support Egypt as an energy hub, either for electricity or gas.
