By Ashraf Sadek CAIRO, April 24, 2018 - President Abdel Fattah El Sisi yesterday held a meeting with Mr Miguel Arias Cañete, the EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, who praised the long--standing relationship between Egypt and the EU member states. During the meeting, Mr Cañete said that the EU-Egyptian relation was an important regional cornerstone of the European energy policy. He added that his talks with President Sisi had focused on issues of bilateral concern including ways of increasing energy co-operation between the European Union and Egypt. (See related story on Page 2). Mr Cañete confirmed to President Sisi the EU's support for the political, economic and social aspirations of the Egyptian people, now that the Cairo government had taken significant steps to upgrade the electricity sector over the past few years. President Sisi said that his administration had been carrying out a plan to strengthen and modernise the electricity sector so that citizens could feel the constant improvement in the quality of services as well as in the availability of a stable electric current supply nationwide. This plan, President Sisi told Mr Cañete, included the building and equipping of many power-generating plants, improving the infrastructure, developing the electricity distribution grid and upgrading the control units in Egypt's governorates. The plan would also ensure the best use of natural resources and the integration of electric energy policies to achieve energy security and push forward developmental efforts in Egypt. Mr Cañete praised the exemplary performance of the electricity sector and the way it was constantly being upgraded to meet the needs of the people, Presidency Spokesman Ambassador Bassam Radi said after the meeting that was attended by the Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker. The president also highlighted the major role played by the electricity sector in coping with the requirements of economic growth in the country and contributing to the provision of the infrastructure necessary for drawing in additional foreign investment. The president has briefed Mr Cañete on Egypt's efforts to establish an electricity network with neighbouring countries. The president said that Egypt was the first country in the region to build a set of modern facilities that are related to the electricity network, as a part of Cairo government's strategy to enhance its co-operation with neighbouring and EU countries in the field of electricity and natural gas. Mr Cañete pointed out that the Egyptian electricity sector was being comprehensively improved through the establishment and upgrading of new power plants. He also said that Egypt was becoming a regional natural gas hub after announcing the discovery of many new offshore fields. Ambassador Radi said that the Sisi-Cañete discussions dealt with the efforts made by the Cairo government to cope with climate change and environment conservation issues. President Sisi confirmed that Egypt was paying due attention to climate change, which he said would have negative socio-economic effects on nations and their development plans. Mr Cañete agreed with President Sisi's call for exerting concerted international efforts to combat the global warming problem in Africa. Later in the day, President Sisi conferred with Mr Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO of the ABB multinational company specialised in electricity grid interconnection, which has investments worth about $200 million in Egypt, Ambassador Radi said. He said that the meeting focused on the company's ongoing projects as well as widening the scope of its activities in Egypt.
