Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail hailed Egyptian-Italian cooperation in the petroleum sector.

He said that cooperation between the two countries in the petroleum sector dates back to 1950s.

This came during a visit by Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab and his accompanying delegation to Italy, according to a statement issued by the Petroleum Ministry on Saturday.

Five joint cooperation agreements were signed with the Italian side to start new projects for gas exploration and development of Egyptian oil refineries, said the minister, adding that the Italian side will provide about 2.8 billion dollars of the total investments of two projects in Alexandria and Assiut.