Egypt is seeking faster progress on joint energy projects with Libya, including gas pipeline links, the refining of Libyan crude in Egypt and an electricity interconnection between the two countries.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty made the call late on Saturday after meeting Libya's acting oil and gas minister, Khalifa Abdulsadek, in Tripoli. His comments were set out in a statement from Egypt's Foreign Ministry.

The meeting covered three strands of cooperation. The first is gas, with the two sides discussing pipeline links that would move Libyan gas into Egypt. The second is refining, with Libyan crude processed at Egyptian facilities and the resulting products re-exported. The third is power, with work to link the two countries' electricity networks.

Abdelatty also called for stronger cooperation on petroleum products and for the completion of projects to refine Libyan oil in Egypt for re-export. The emphasis, in the ministry's account, was on moving from discussion to delivery on projects that have already been agreed in principle.

The push comes as Egypt contends with an energy squeeze. Reuters reported that the pressure has been worsened by insufficient domestic gas output and by elevated global prices for liquefied natural gas, which it linked to the US-Israeli war on Iran. For Cairo, closer energy ties with a neighbouring producer offer one route to easing that strain.

Libya, for its part, is looking to make fuller use of its oil and gas resources after years in which conflict and political division have held back its energy sector. Refining crude in Egypt and re-exporting the products would give Tripoli another outlet for its oil, while a gas pipeline would open a further market for its gas.

An electricity interconnection would serve a different purpose. Linking the grids would allow power to flow between the two countries, helping each side to manage peaks in demand and to support supply when domestic generation is under pressure. Libya has faced recurring power shortages, and a cross-border link would give its grid an additional source of electricity.

According to the Egyptian statement, Abdulsadek said Libya would continue implementing existing projects and would visit Cairo soon to continue technical talks with Egypt's petroleum and electricity ministers. That visit is now the next step, with officials expected to work through the practical details of the projects on the table.

The statement did not provide details on the costs of the projects or on their current status, and it did not set out a timetable for completion. That leaves the scale and timing of the cooperation unclear, even as both governments present it as a priority.

What is clear is that both sides want the work to move faster. For Egypt, the attraction is additional gas, refining business and power links at a time of tight domestic supply. For Libya, it is a chance to turn its energy resources into revenue and to rebuild the infrastructure links with its eastern neighbour.

The talks in Tripoli will now be followed by technical discussions in Cairo, where ministers and officials will have to settle the details that the ministerial statement left open.