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Israeli, Egyptian ministers in rare meeting to discuss energy, security cooperation
In the first meeting between ministers from the two countries in several years, Israel’s Energy and Water Minister Yuval Steinitz met yesterday with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979 and formalised diplomatic relations a year later. The peace agreement has held firm since then, although relations were practically non-existent when the Muslim Brotherhood took power following the fall of Hosni Mubarak. However, the two countries have enjoyed relatively warm ties since President al-Sisi ousted the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013.
Israel re-opened its’ embassy in Cairo last year, and earlier this year Egypt’s ambassador returned to Israel after a three-year hiatus. However, yesterday’s meeting between Steinitz and Shoukry represents the first ministerial meeting for a number of years. Both are attending the global nuclear security summit being hosted by US President Obama.
Steinitz’s office said that “The meeting dealt with regional issues, the possibility of providing Israeli gas to Egyptian liquefaction facilities, and international cooperation in preventing radioactive terrorism.” Talks to provide Egypt with gas from recently developed off-shore Israeli fields are thought to have been ongoing since 2014. Should a deal be agreed, it would be a reversal of roles, given that Israel received Egyptian gas until regional instability ended the supply in 2012.
Meanwhile, there is thought to be significant cooperation between Israel and Egypt over the common threat of Islamist terror in the Sinai Peninsula and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The ISIS-affiliated Sinai Province terror group is waging a campaign of violence aimed mainly at Egyptian security forces and officials, but have on occasion fired rockets into Israel. Meanwhile, Egypt accuses Hamas of aiding Sinai Province by using smuggling tunnels underneath the Gaza border to supply them with weapons and fighters. Like Israel, Egypt has taken strong action to combat the network of Gaza tunnels constructed to circumvent its border.