Egypts Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla signed on Saturday two deals with international firms to explore for petroleum and gas in two deep-water areas in the Mediterranean and the Western Desert. In a statement, the ministry said the deals were signed with companies from Canada, Britain, the Netherlands, Malaysia, and Kuwait, adding that the deals include drilling 12 wells at an investment of at least 1 billion US dollars. The minister affirmed that the petroleum sector will proceed with offering international bids, as well as signing new agreements with the aim of boosting Egypts production of petroleum and gas to reduce imports. However, Egypt aims to return to an energy exporter after resources were discovered across the country, which attracted international firms over the past few years. Egypt is currently engaged in deals with international energy corporations for oil and gas exploration, including Italys Eni and Britains BP. In another context, Cairo is hosting meetings of the World Franchise Council, represented by the Egyptian Franchise Development Association (EFDA). Tarek Tawfik, the chairman of the EFDA, said on Saturday in a statement that such important event represents a great opportunity for the franchise grantors to present their trademarks and expand their activities by the participation in the exhibition in the presence of 46 entities representing thousands of franchise projects around the world. Under the theme "Social franchise and sustainable development", the fair will offer a group of franchise opportunities on the local and international levels and encourage investors to get a franchise through boosting investments and signing trade deals, Tawfiq added.