Energy dominated the conversation in El Sisi’s sit-down with German chancellor: Energy, COP27 and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) were all up for discussion yesterday during talks between President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the German capital.

Egypt, Germany to cooperate on green hydrogen: El Sisi, who is in Berlin for the annual Petersberg Climate Dialogue, discussed cooperation over liquefied natural gas, clean energy and green hydrogen with the German leader, Ittihadiya said in a statement. In a joint presser following the meeting (watch, runtime: 22:16), Scholz told reporters that the two sides agreed to cooperate on developing Egypt’s green hydrogen industry in a bid to help Europe diversify its energy supplies away from Russia. Exporting hydrogen to Germany will be a “very big opportunity” for countries like Egypt, he said.

Egypt wants to help ease the current European gas crisis, El Sisi said during the press conference, adding that the country “could export all the natural gas that it can produce from the Eastern Mediterranean.” Egypt recently signed an agreement with Israel and the EU to increase gas exports to Europe as the continent looks to phase out its reliance on Russian fossil fuels. The agreement will see Israel send more gas to Egypt’s LNG facilities before exporting it on tankers to European shores.

El Sisi called on international financial institutions to help Egypt overcome the current crisis: “We’re asking our friends in Europe and international financial institutions, like the IMF and the World Bank, to help us until the current crisis is over.” Egypt and the IMF are currently in talks over a fresh assistance program to prevent a balance of payments crisis caused by soaring food and energy prices.

Also from Berlin: The president met the heads of major German industrial companies during a business roundtable, who expressed interest in expanding their activities in Egypt, according to Ittihadiya.