Germany and Egypt have agreed to cooperate on building a hydrogen economy as part of Europe’s efforts to diversify its energy sources, news agencies reported on Monday. Agreement was reached during a visit by Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi to Berlin where he took part in the 13th Petersberg Climate Dialogue.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made the announcement in a joint news conference with the Egyptian president. He said that this would be part of Germany’s efforts to reduce its dependence on Russian gas.

“For the transformation of industry in countries like Germany, electricity and hydrogen will be crucial,” Scholz said. “Much of that hydrogen will be imported.” he added. Germany’s need for gas imports was described by the chancellor as a “very big opportunity” for other countries.

“One thing we have had to learn from this crisis is that it is important to diversify,” said Scholz. “You shouldn’t rely on one single partner but must have many good partners.”

Al-Sisi affirmed Egypt’s “full readiness” to lay the foundations of a firm partnership with Berlin on energy. This could be either by exporting natural gas to Germany and the EU, or establishing an “extended partnership” as part of “Egypt’s ambitious vision to transform itself into a distinguished hub for the production and export of clean energy, especially green hydrogen and solar and wind energy.”