Back to the complete issue
Wednesday, 4 December 2019

Egypt’s Shoukry heads to Rome Med 2019, where Libya could be a hot topic

Foregin Minister Sameh Shoukry is flying to Italy today for the Rome Med 2019 – Mediterranean Dialogues, which gets underway tomorrow, according to a ministry statement. Libya and Turkey’s recently-signed border demarcation MoUs are expected to come up in Rome tomorrow and at a NATO summit currently underway in London. Erdogan has been quoted by a regional newspaper as saying Turkey doesn’t intend to discuss the agreements, but Greek Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis is adamant to bring it up in London. Shoukry discussed the issue yesterday with Libya’s Deputy Prime Minister Fathi Al-Magbari, the ministry said in a statement.

What’s at stake? The agreements could potentially infringe upon territorial waters claimed by Egypt, Cyprus, and Greece. According to a map shared by a Turkish diplomat following the accords with Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, this is what Ankara is looking to lay claim to. The specific sea strip Ankara is after is part of a planned natural gas pipeline that would link the eastern Mediterranean’s fields to Italy and the European mainland via Cyprus, which wants to leave Ankara out of the equation. Turkey has had those plans in place since nearly a decade ago, which explains why Turkish drilling vessels are routinely spotted in the wrong places.Al Monitor also has a comprehensive take on the situation.

Also from Shoukry’s day: The FM held talks with the US’ newly-appointed ambassador to Egypt Jonathan Cohen, the ministry spokesperson said on Twitter.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.