Following his recent visit to Egypt, Minister of Trade, Industry & Tourism Nicos Rolandis stated that according to research carried out, there appear to be vast oil and natural gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean from which Cyprus and its neighbouring countries can benefit from.

During his visit to Egypt, amongst other issues, Mr Rolandis discussed with his Egyptian and Syrian counterparts the possibility of construction of a pipeline for the transportation of natural gas from Syria to Egypt via Jordan as well as the creation of a natural gas station at a Syrian port. A meeting is scheduled for the 15 April in Amman between Cyprus, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and the Lebanon for further discussions on the natural gas and other issues.