Egypt is increasing its ties to neighbours Tunisia and Libya, according to recent news reports. Tunisia and Egypt have decided to stimulate their economic exchanges with increasing mixed investments and the acceleration of integration in the Mediterranean Euro zone and the greater Arab free trade area.
Additionally, Libyan authorities announced a plan with Egypt to build an oil refinery and a natural gas pipeline on Egypt’s northern coast, signaling increasing ties between the two neighboring North African countries. Libya would like to boost its investment in Egypt from $2 billion US to $10 billion US in the coming years. The refinery it to be paid for in full by the Libyans and will be built to the west of Alexandria. It will process Libyan crude oil, and authorities anticipate the refinery will have the capacity to process 250,000 barrels per day. The natural gas pipeline will stretch from Alexandria in the East to Tobruk, Libya in the West.
According to a Tunisian official, the two countries agreed to work together in promoting trade and economic ties. They would like to formulate a strategy to facilitate and increase trade between Egypt and Tunisia. The first major areas of this are to be increased transportation between both countries through maritime links and a land link with the cooperation of Libya, which lies between the two nations.
Useful Resources
