Italy looks energy ties with Algeria
Rome, The Gulf Observer: Giorgia Meloni is looking to boost already strong energy ties with Algeria to further wean Italy off Russian energy, a focus of her two-day visit to the North African nation.
“We want Italy to become a European hub for Algerian gas. A junction for other EU countries,” Algeria’s ambassador to Rome, Abdelkrim Touahria, said in an interview with Rome daily Il Messaggero, published on Saturday ahead of Meloni’s visit starting from Sunday.
Italy and gas-rich Algeria now want to build on then premier Mario Draghi’s successful initiatives last year to boost Algerian energy supplies to Italy, the diplomat said.
Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, which upset global strategic and economic dynamics, gave a new and urgent dimension to ties between Algiers and Rome, long dependent on Russian energy.
Other European Union nations also have scrambled to find sources of replacement for Russian energy.
