The interstate agreement between Greece and Egypt is signed: a blow to Turkish plans

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The agreement is fully in line with international law and the international law of the sea in an area that Turkey has targeted

The new international agreement deals a heavy blow to the Turkish plans with the illegal Turkish-Libyan Greece – Egypt. Turkey is trying to approach Egypt, however, Athens is the one that signs an interstate agreement with Cairo.

After the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone, Athens and Cairo today Tuesday proceed to sign a new interstate agreement (“Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Sectors”) in a special ceremony.

It will be attended by Nikos Panagiotopoulos and Nikos Dendias as well as their counterparts, General Mohamed Zaki and Sameh Soukri.

With the signing of the international agreement a new business plan is implemented for the demarcated area between Greece and Egypt, which effectively annuls the illegal Turkish-Libyan memorandum. The two sides will agree to joint search and rescue (SAR) operations in the disputed area.

THE agreement is absolutely in agreement with international law and the international law of the sea in an area that Turkey has targeted.

This particular agreement acquires particular political weight, as it is the second signed by the two countries in a short period of time.

The first was the EEZ delimitation agreement in August 2020, which enshrined Greek sovereign rights that Turkey was trying to dispute.

What does the agreement include in detail?

  • Determination of Search and Rescue (SAR) limits
  • Identification FIR ie the area where the two countries control the flights and SAR
  • Joint SAR operations joint search and rescue operations

This is a move that comes to further protect the borders of Greece and in continuation of a series of diplomatic agreements such as with:

  • Italy in 2000
  • Malta in 2008
  • Cyprus in 2014
  • And Egypt in 2022

The announcement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

“The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, the Minister of National Defense Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis will visit Egypt (Cairo) tomorrow, Tuesday 22 November 2022, where meetings will be held with their counterparts.

As part of the visit, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs will attend the signing ceremony of the “Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Sectors”, by the Minister of National Defense and his Egyptian counterpart, Mohamed Zaki.

After the signing, short joint statements by the Greek and Egyptian Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the press are expected to take place, around 14:15.

Then a joint working lunch will take place.

Afterwards, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias and the Minister of National Defense, Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos will follow separate programs of meetings with their counterparts, Sameh Shoukry and Mohamed Zaki, respectively.

Regarding the program of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, will have a private meeting with his Egyptian counterpart, while extended talks will be held between the delegations of the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs.

After the end of the extended talks, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, will sign with the Egyptian, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ihab Nasr, an Agreement for the Employment of Seasonal Workers in the Agricultural Sector.

Joint statements to the press by the two Ministers of Foreign Affairs will follow at around 17:00.

The above meetings are part of the strategic bilateral relations between Greece and Egypt and the regular contacts between the highest officials of the two countries”.

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