Italy and Saudi Arabia sign an agreement on energy cooperation
Kyiv • UNN
Italy signed a five-year memorandum of energy cooperation with Saudi Arabia. The agreement provides for the possibility of supplying Saudi hydrogen to Europe through Italy as a transit hub.
Italy and Saudi Arabia have signed an agreement to strengthen energy cooperation, including the possible supply of Saudi hydrogen to Europe. This was stated by Italian Energy Minister Gilberto Piketto Fratin, Reuters reports, UNN writes.
Details
The Minister informed that the Memorandum of Understanding, which will be valid for five years, was signed by him and his Saudi counterpart Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud during a meeting in Riyadh.
The agreement focuses on renewable energy sources, methane emissions reduction, energy interconnections, renewable and low-emission water and ammonia, and carbon capture and storage systems.
The head of the Italian Energy Ministry suggested that Italy could become an "entry point" for renewable hydrogen and ammonia produced in Saudi Arabia to enter Europe. According to him, this would be "a much closer, more competitive and strategic solution than other alternatives in the North Sea.
Recall
Last November, Riyadh abandoned an ambitious defense treaty with the United States in exchange for normalizing relations with Israel. Instead, Saudi Arabia insists on a more modest military cooperation agreement.