Egypt, Italy to ink MoUs during Mahlab's visit

Egypt and Italy will sign several memorandums of understanding in the fields of petroleum, energy and electricity during a visit by Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab due to start on Wednesday.

Mahlab will embark on a three-day official visit to Italy as of Wednesday at an invitation from his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi to foster economic, trade and investment cooperation.

The premier will visit Expo Milano 2015 held under the theme of "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life". About 140 states, including Egypt, are taking part in the event.

As Italy is the 11th investing country in Egypt, Mahlab - leading a ministerial delegation - will tour the cities of Turin, Milan and Rome to encourage investment in Egypt.

The visit comes to further the Egyptian-Italian relations after Italy's remarkable participation in Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC) held in Sharm el Sheikh.

Senior Italian officials have said that the European state is keen on investing in Egypt in various domains, especially in the energy, electricity and transportation.

During the visit, Mahlab will meet with a number of top Italian officials, including Renzi.

While in Turin, Mahlab will attend a roundtable meeting with 15 top officials from Italian automobile manufacturing companies.

Mahlab will also chair a meeting of the Egyptian-Italian business council to review the Egyptian government priorities and Italian investment vistas in Egypt.

Egypt and Italy will also sign a declaration of intent on furthering cooperation.