Egypt, Libya keen on expanding electricity cooperation

Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Energy Ali El-Saedi underlined the depth of Egyptian-Libyan relations, especially in the electricity and energy domain.

He reaffirmed keenness of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Libyan counterpart Muaammar Gaddafi on promoting and boosting bilateral cooperation so as to capitalise on all national expertise and achieve integration in all fields.

In statements Friday, Saedi said he discussed with his Libyan counterpart Omran Abu Karaa, on the sidelines of the seventh session of the joint Egyptian-Libyan higher committee recently held in Tripoli, ways to upgrade cooperation to implement the committee's decisions.

The two ministers also reviewed progress in implementing the first and second phases of the power linkage project between the two countries as well as the executive procedures for establishing a joint company for engineering design and maintenance.

The two sides agreed on forming a task force to outline mechanisms for putting these procedures into effect, Saedi said.

Taking up partnership in electrical industries, Egypt and Libya agreed to enable companies and investors to join hands in establishing power transformer factories.

The two states expressed a desire to augment the volume of their trade exchange.