Italy has agreed to upgrade Egypt’s Middle East Oil Refinery (MIDOR), participate in building a complex for petrochemical industries in Ain Sokhna, and update a number of combined-cycle power plants.

The projects are also expected to increase energy efficiency, Head of the Cairo’s Egyptian-Italian Business Council Khaled Abu Bakr said in statements on Wednesday, state-run news agency MENA reported.

Italian Minister of Economy Federica Guidi previously said Egypt is keen on attracting Italian investments.

Guidi, who is in Egypt heading a delegation of Italian companies to discuss investments, made the statements during a Tuesday meeting with the Egyptian Minister of Industry Tarek Qabil.

The trade volume between both countries registered €5.1m in 2014, up from €4.7m in 2013.

Qabil expected a leap in Egyptian-Italian economic relations, predicting the participation of Italian companies in large-scale projects, such as the Suez Canal Area Development project, the Golden Triangle, Al-Robeky City for leather industries, and the furniture city in Damietta.