President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Tuesday stressed the importance of developing the oil and gas production sector in Egypt. 

The president made the remarks in a meeting with Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, Petroleum Minister Tarek el Mulla and Chairman of the Administrative Control Authority (ACA) Mohammed Erfan.

The oil and gas production sector is an important pillar of the national economy that lures more foreign investments and provides new job opportunities, Presidential Spokesman Alaa Youssef said quoted the president as having said. 

The spokesman said that Sisi stressed the need to make Egypt a regional center for oil and gas trade in the coming period. 

The president directed the bodies concerned to ensure the availability of adequate supplies of energy for the operation of all power plants and factories at full capacity, Youssef said. 

During the meeting, el Mulla briefed Sisi on the ministry's plan to develop a system to monitor and control transportation, distribution and marketing of petroleum products. 

The minister told Sisi that the planned system was meant to stop smuggling subsided oil products, the spokesman noted.

Source: MENA