Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi traveled to Algeria on Monday where he was received by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. The aim of the visit was to sign energy agreements due to Italy’s goal to reduce its dependence on Russian gas.
Italy imports the vast majority of its natural gas, 45% of which comes from Russia. However, Rome is increasingly turning to Algeria, its second biggest supplier, to reduce this dependence. The war in Ukraine has triggered sanctions against Moscow and caused energy prices to skyrocket.
Mario Draghi had already visited Algeria in April. Then, he reached an agreement to increase Algerian deliveries to Italy by nine billion cubic meters over the period 2023/2024, through the Transmed gas pipeline.
The two countries also plan to sign agreements to strengthen judicial, industrial and cultural cooperation, according to the office of the Algerian Prime Minister. Algeria is Africa's leading gas exporter and supplies around 11% of the natural gas consumed in Europe.
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