Egypt provided the city of Benghazi and eastern Libyan with power during the Libyan revolution, after the Qadhafi regime cut off its supply of power to the city, said Electricity and Energy Minister Hassan Younis on Wednesday.
During a meeting with Libyan Ambassador to Cairo Abdel Moneim al-Houni, Younis said that Egyptian-Libyan relations are close and not dependent on how the Libya is governed, as the two countries have enjoyed stable relations throughout history.
Younis added that Egyptian utilities provided eastern Libya and Benghazi with approximately 30 percent of its electricity.
He said that Egyptian companies will use the experience they gained from rebuilding electrical networks in Lebanon and Gaza to reconstruct Libya’s electrical network within the shortest possible time.
An official source told Al-Masry Al-Youm that Qadhafi’s regime had contacted Egyptian authorities and asked them to cut power to Benghazi and eastern Libya, but the authorities ignored the request.
The source went on to say that the request came the day after Benghazi fell into rebel hands a few months ago, after which Qadhafi’s regime destroyed power stations in eastern Libya, thereby compelling Egypt’s leadership to connect Egypt and Libya at maximum capacity.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
