Greece and Egypt are coordinating to resolve various regional issues and crises
Pictured from above to below: The Egyptian and Greek Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Sameh Shoukry and Nikos Dendias, address the press after their meeting in Athens; meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis; the two delegations in conference at the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs.’’
Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Sameh Shoukry paid a visit to Athens on April 11th, to discuss regional and international issues. Egypt and Greece are in talks to boost cooperation within the East Mediterranean Gas Forum framework and the tripartite cooperation mechanism that brings the two countries together with Cyprus.
The Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met in Athens with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias. They discussed various aspects of bilateral relations and ways to advance them, alongside regional and international developments.
The officials agreed on the importance of exchanging visions to develop bilateral and tripartite cooperation to achieve more security and stability for the three countries and strengthen cooperation.
Minister Shoukry began his visit to Athens by meeting with his Greek counterpart. The Ministers held a closed session, followed by extensive bilateral discussions between their delegations.
The Egyptian Foreign Minister hailed the relations between the two countries as “strategic” and all discussions between them as “transparent”. “The relations between our two countries have developed in a major way over the past nine years,” he stressed.
Minister Shoukry conveyed the Government’s interest in facilitating Greek investments in Egypt, increasing the volume of trade exchange and overcoming the obstacles facing Greek companies in Egypt.
The two sides praised the joint projects in green hydrogen production and new and renewable energy, namely the Greece-Egypt (GREGY) electricity interconnection project. The project allows Egypt to strengthen the energy security of Europe and boosts its ability to produce and export energy while maintaining the common interest of both sides.
Minister Shoukry also addressed several regional and international issues of common concern, including the current escalation in the Palestinian territories, the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, developments in Syria, Libya and elsewhere in the region.
He was keen to brief Greek officials on Egypt’s efforts to achieve calm between the Palestinians and Israelis. “Egypt is coordinating with Greec
e to find a resolution for the Palestinian issue as part of our efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region,” he stressed.
“We seek to restore unity and stability to Libya,” he added.
Minister Shoukry also expressed appreciation for the Greek efforts to support Egypt inside the European Union.
The Foreign Ministers also tackled efforts to confront illegal immigration across the Mediterranean, combat terrorism and coordinate security and military cooperation.
The Egyptian Foreign Minister met with the Greek Prime Minister, which reflected the depth and strength of the strategic friendship between Egypt and Greece that is based on multiple political, economic and cultural foundations. He conveyed a verbal message from President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, underscoring the strength of the strategic partnership between Egypt and Greece and appreciating the continuous development of these relations on various political and economic levels.
Minister Khoukry affirmed Egypt’s aspiration to explore more new areas of cooperation, which in turn requires working together to develop aspects of this cooperation in a way that contributes to making it a role model in relations between friendly countries.
He further confirmed during the press conference that he would be visiting Turkey soon, as the two countries take progressive steps to repair relations that were ruptured over a decade ago.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu revealed in remarks to the media that he had invited the Egyptian Foreign Minister to visit Ankara to discuss next steps in normalising relations between the two countries.
“Egypt has sensed a desire from Turkey to normalise relations,” the Egyptian head of diplomacy said. “My visit to Turkey will discuss the implementation of this normalisation while taking into account good neighbourliness in order to achieve peace and stability in the region,” he added.
Of particular interest to Greece is the Egypt-Turkey rapprochement, with Minister Shoukry heading for Ankara after Greece. The fact that it was preceded by the trip to Athens and the visit of Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides to Cairo suggests Egypt’s willingness not to disturb the axis of cooperation between the three countries.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Dendias said during the press conference that Athens seeks to broaden cooperation with Ankara, including in the field of energy, after the completion of the upcoming national elections in both countries.
In recent months, Ankara has launched initiatives to improve ties with both Greece and Egypt. “Greece always pursues opportunities to have a genuine and honest partnership with Turkey,” stressed Minister Dendias.
He added that Greece would be open to new members joining an association of nations in the eastern Mediterranean that would collaborate on natural gas development. Turkey is currently not a member. “I want to clarify that we would welcome the participation of other countries in this forum, but on one obvious condition: respect for International Law and respect for the International Maritime Law,” he said.
Currently, Greece and Egypt are members in the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EastMed), which includes Cyprus, France, Israel, Italy, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.’’
The Egyptian Foreign Minister hailed the relations between the two countries as “strategic” and all discussions between them as “transparent”. “The relations between our two countries have developed in a major way over the past nine years,” he stressed.