Karim Badawi, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, met with Cyprus’s Ambassador to Egypt, Polly Ioannou, at the ministry’s headquarters in the New Administrative Capital to discuss prospects for cooperation between the two countries in the mining sector. The meeting was also attended by Mahmoud Abdel Hamid, Executive Managing Director of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS).

Ambassador Ioannou revealed that several Cyprus-based mining companies have shown strong interest in investing in Egypt’s mining sector, praising the notable progress the industry has achieved. She said that recent reforms have created a more investment-friendly environment, making Egypt an increasingly attractive destination for foreign investors.

The Ambassador further commended the strong and productive cooperation between Egypt and Cyprus in the energy field, particularly in natural gas, noting the planned linkage of Cypriot gas fields to Egypt’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities for re-export to Europe.

For his part, Badawi welcomed expanding the scope of cooperation between the two countries beyond natural gas to include mining. He expressed his readiness to meet with interested investors soon to begin taking concrete steps toward launching new mining ventures in Egypt.

Minister Badawi held several meetings with Cypriot officials last month to enhance cooperation in the natural gas sector, the latest of which took place on the sidelines of the GASTECH 2025 conference and exhibition in Milan, Italy. The discussions focused on expediting the connection of Cyprus’s Cronos and Aphrodite gas fields to Egypt’s energy infrastructure by 2027,