Tarek El Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, received  Nigeria’s Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah, to discuss ways to improve cooperation in the field of mining and collaborate on proposed joint projects between the two countries.

El Molla indicated that his strategy to develop the mining sector aims to capitalize on the economic benefit of Egypt’s mineral resources as well as exploiting ores in the manufacturing industries which offers a great economic return. The minister highlighted that the new amendments to the mining law succeeded in creating an attractive investment climate as the recent gold bid round is proof of that. He denoted that Egypt’s participation in international mining forums such as the mining conferences in Canada, South Africa, Australia, and others helped in promoting the country’s mining activities.

Both parties agreed to reconvene to present an initiative for a joint action plan to identify areas of cooperation and opportunities available in the field of mining. For his part, Ogah indicated that his country is currently working on amending its mining law to achieve maximum economic benefit. He commended Egyptian companies’ working methods and stressed that the Nigerian companies aim to benefit from their expertise in several fields, especially in energy, mining, and infrastructure.