Egypt’s petroleum minister advocates business over politics in gas-rich East Mediterranean

Egypt’s petroleum minister praised the “practical and pragmatic” approach to energy security among countries signed up to the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum.

“I think that energy and, specifically now, gas is very important,” Tarek el Molla told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble at the World Energy Congress in Abu Dhabi.

The forum, which aims to establish a regional gas market and offer more competitive prices, was launched earlier this year. It consists of Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, and the Palestinian Authority, with its headquarters in Cairo.

“The people of the region would benefit out of this gas in order to have some prosperity, some welfare and wellbeing. Therefore, to be more practical and pragmatic, we sought to have this forum.”