- The visit’s main goal was to consolidate diplomatic and commercial ties and secure a contract for increased gas exports.
- Also, on the sidelines of the official visit, Meloni and the Algerian Prime Minister, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, visited a garden in Algiers dedicated to Enrico Mattei.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni completed a two-day visit to Algeria on January 24. This is her first official trip to the North African country. The visit’s main goal was to consolidate diplomatic and commercial ties and secure a contract for increased gas exports. The deal’s details had, for the most part, been negotiated by her predecessor, Mario Draghi, during his previous visits last summer. The deal, signed with the Algerian state-owned gas company Sonatrach, grants Italy the shipment of 9bn cubic metres of gas in addition to the supply already flowing through the TransMed pipeline. This vital infrastructure connects Algeria to Sicily through Tunisia and under the Mediterranean Sea; its expansion has already been planned to augment the current capacity of 33.5 bcm per year.
Speaking at the press conference, Meloni said: “Today Algeria is our first gas supplier. I have witnessed the signing of two agreements between Eni and Sonatrach: a deal to reduce greenhouse gases [GHGs] for sustainable development and a second landmark deal to increase Algerian gas supplies to Italy further (and therefore the EU), plus the planning of a new pipeline to transport hydrogen and enable Algeria to produce LNG. In sum, a good energy mix that could shield Italy from the ongoing energy crisis”.
Algeria already supplied around 30% of Italy’s natural gas needs in 2021 before Russia invaded Ukraine. It currently makes up 38% of the country’s imports. The new deal is a step forward in Rome’s cooperation with Algiers. It reflects Italy’s ambition to become a transit hub for African gas transported further north to other EU countries.
Algeria’s ambassador to Rome, Abdelkrim Touahria, who was present at the event said “We want Italy to become a European hub for Algerian gas. A junction for other EU countries”. However, to do so, Italy will have to consistently expand its domestic gas network and build new energy corridors to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Also, on the sidelines of the official visit, Meloni and the Algerian Prime Minister, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, visited a garden in Algiers dedicated to Enrico Mattei, the founder of the Italian energy company Eni, who supported Algeria in its independence fight with France in the 1950s and early 1960s.