Algeria, Italy look to broaden ties beyond coveted energy

ALGIERS, Algeria — Italy and Algeria moved to broaden ties through a series of memorandums signed Monday during a two-day visit by Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, who said the two countries are in the process of building “an extraordinary bridge” that would hopefully transform Italy into an energy hub for Europe. “It is a model of development that allows African nations to grow based on what they have, thanks to a non-predatory approach by foreign nations.” The CEO of Italian energy company ENI, Claudio Descalzi, signed two agreements with the Algerian energy giant Sonatrach to develop projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing gas exports to Italy and possibly building a pipeline to transport hydrogen to Italy. Meloni said that one of the accords aims to increase energy exports from Algeria to Italy, “therefore, potentially from Algeria to Europe” via a new pipeline. “In this historical era, we need to tackle a difficult situation and we must do it by building bridges,” Meloni said, adding that what Italy and Algeria are doing “is the confirmation of an extraordinary bridge” that will be useful to all of Europe, “especially when it comes to energy supply.” Tebboune said that talks focused on gas “and we want Italy to become a platform for distribution of Algerian energy products in Europe.” But, he added that “we want to enlarge our cooperation beyond energy.” Italy’s Confindustria industrial lobby agreed to pursue greater cooperation with Algerian business, and the Italian Space Agency signed an agreement to share knowledge and develop joint projects with its Algerian counterpart.