Italy has sealed a series of agreements with Algeria, as European countries intensified their efforts to sidestep Russia after it invaded Ukraine and fix alternative energy supplies.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi during his visit to Algiers as part of the fourth Italy-Algeria intergovernmental summit met Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Monday. They signed fifteen agreements and memorandums of understanding in versatile areas such as energy, sustainable development, justice, and micro-enterprises.
The finalization of the deal sees many energy companies, including Italy’s Eni, invest $4bn in a site to produce one billion oil-equivalent barrels.
Toufik Hakkar, chief executive officer of Sonatrach, Algeria’s state oil and gas producer told reporters that American energy firm Occidental and France’s TotalEnergies were also among the investors.
P.M Draghi said that Algeria has ‘become in recent months the biggest supplier of gas to Italy. “Algeria is a very important partner for Italy, in the energy sector, in the industry and business fields, in the fight against criminality, and in the search for peace and stability in the Mediterranean,” he said. The agreements are “fundamental for the European Union and Italy,” and “a testament to our determination to achieve even more in this domain,” he added.
