Israel ready to help transform Italy into energy hub: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to help energy-starved Italy transform into a regional energy hub during his visit to the Italian capital on Friday.

After meeting with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Netanyahu said he wanted to increase natural gas exports to Europe via Italy.

Such a move would be welcome in Italy, which has struggled to replace natural gas imports from Russia.

Netanyahu and Meloni did not reveal the specifics of the import scheme.

"Italy has said it wants to be a hub for the supply of energy to Europe," said Netanyahu. "We think exactly the same thing, and we have gas reserves that we will start exporting, and we would like to expedite more gas exports to Europe through Italy."