On the relations between Greece and Egypt which, as pointed out by the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, remain “fixed and reinforced” but also in the provocative statements made today by Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Nikos Dendias in his statements after the end of the meeting he had with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shukri in Athens.

“It is understandable in pre-election periods to try, under the pressure of pre-election needs, to include critical foreign policy issues in the public debate. But I have pointed out many times that both sides must protect this climate that has been created. Because that is the only way we will be able, after the elections, to take advantage of any room for agreement and I do not think it is useful to include the topic of Greek-Turkish relations in the pre-election period, which is currently ongoing in both countries” said Nikos Dendias.

Regarding Greek-Egyptian relations, he stated that in this era of fragile balances, Greek-Egyptian relations remain stable and strengthened. Egypt is one of the main factors of stability and security for our entire region, the Eastern Mediterranean region, but I would like to say, not only for it.”

He also recalled the historical ties between the two countries. “And it is the country, the great country, with which we are connected by historical ties. The close and continuous cooperation between Athens and Cairo yields many positive results to avoid tensions, to avoid crises in our region. And the very frequent exchanges of visits by the highest officials of the two countries indicate the excellent level of our bilateral relations.

Strategic relations, which in the last 4 years have historically reached their highest level, starting from 2020 when the two of us together, in Cairo, had the great honor of signing the Agreement on the Delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zones. An agreement that fully respects International Law, fully respects International Law of the Sea.”

At the same time, the two leaders discussed the Cyprus issue, the situation in Libya and the Middle East.

Dendias

The speech of Nikos Dendias in detail

Dear Sameh,

First of all, let me express the wish, Ramadan Kareem, it is our great pleasure to welcome you once again today in Athens, just a few months after our last meeting in Cairo, at a time when the balances in the region are fragile.

However, in this era of fragile balances, the relations between Greece and Egypt remain stable and strengthened.

Egypt is one of the main factors of stability and security for our entire region, the Eastern Mediterranean region, but I would like to say, not only for it.

And it is the country, the great country, with which we are connected by historical ties. The close and continuous cooperation between Athens and Cairo yields many positive results to avoid tensions, to avoid crises in our region. And the very frequent exchanges of visits by the highest officials of the two countries indicate the excellent level of our bilateral relations.

Strategic relations, which in the last 4 years have historically reached their highest level, starting from 2020 when the two of us together, in Cairo, had the great honor of signing the Agreement on the Delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zones. An agreement that fully respects International Law, fully respects International Law of the Sea.

Earlier, as part of our regular consultations, we talked about the approach on a number of issues and we will of course continue at the working dinner later this evening, because there is so much that needs to be said.

Let me first start with our trade, the rise of which reflects our excellent bilateral relations. The trade volume exceeded 2 billion euros making Egypt one of our most important trading partners. But we agreed that there is a lot of room to go even further, through new investments, through synergies.
We put special emphasis on the field of environmental protection, on dealing with climate change, we will discuss this in the evening as well. However, I must publicly congratulate Egypt for the excellent organization and also for the substantial results of its Presidency at COP 27.

We will cooperate so that there is continuity during the presidency of the United Arab Emirates at COP28 in Dubai.

In the context, also, of our common actions for the protection of the environment, I want to inform you again about the organization by Greece of “Our Ocean Conference 2024” and of course I would like to ask and beg you for the active participation of Egypt in this. It is absolutely certain that Egypt’s role is particularly important for the protection of the Mediterranean.

We are also discussing our cooperation in the defense sector and in the context of International Organizations, and I would also like to publicly thank you warmly for supporting Greece’s candidacy for the position of a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the period 2025- 2026. To our right and to our left are the banners of this nomination.

We have also agreed on the mutual support of our candidacies for the Human Rights Council 2026-2028 for Egypt and 2028-2030 for Greece.

The energy sector is an area of ​​close cooperation, I would like to underline here the importance of the strategically important Greece-Egypt electrical interconnection project. Also the Eastern Mediterranean Natural Gas Forum is another area, another framework of excellent cooperation between Egypt and Greece.

And the signing of the memoranda in Cairo in June 2022 between the European Union and Egypt as well as the European Union and Israel demonstrates the importance of the Eastern Mediterranean as an alternative energy route.

Greece, we have declared many times, aspires to play the role of an energy hub for our wider region and we wish to create green corridors to connect the North with the South. Thus to connect the electrical systems of Europe with North Africa and the Middle East.

And I would like to make it clear again here, that we see positively the participation of other states in the Forum, but with one basic, I think self-evident, condition: respect for International Law, respect for International Law of the Sea.

I would like, my dear Sameh, to wish success in Egypt’s presidency of the Gas Forum.

We also always talk about the cooperation schemes of Greece – Egypt – Cyprus and Greece – Egypt – Cyprus and France, the “3+1”. We discussed regional issues, we were concerned with the developments in Libya.

We wish the situation in Libya to be normalized as soon as possible with an ultimate goal, the holding of fair and democratic elections.

I also informed my counterpart about the latest developments in Greek-Turkish relations. For the climate that prevails after the devastating earthquakes and after my visit to Antioch and I would like to say that our choice is an attitude of solidarity towards a neighboring country, towards a society, which has suffered an unimaginable disaster and will I wanted to make it clear again, that Greece will continue to support the Turkish society and does not in any way make this attitude dependent on any geopolitical exchange.

We are always aware of the difficulties of our bilateral relations with Turkey. We hope to maintain the calm climate. We hope that this calm atmosphere, which followed my visit, will act as a starting point for starting an honest dialogue, in order to discuss our difference with Turkey, namely the delimitation of the Continental Shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone based on the Charter of the United Nations Nations, good neighborly relations, respect for the rules of International Law, respect for the rules of the Law of the Sea.

After all, this is the very basis on which we discussed and reached agreements with Egypt, Italy, Albania. Greece is always looking for ways of honest and sincere cooperation with Turkey.

At the same time, we proceed methodically and effectively in defending our interests. In defense of our sovereignty, in defense of our sovereign rights.

Those which are guaranteed by international agreements, by international treaties and by International Law. And of course, these cannot be subjects of negotiation.

However, in view of the Minister’s visit to Ankara after two days, I want to say that it is understandable in pre-election periods to try, under the pressure of pre-election needs, to include critical foreign policy issues in the public debate.

But I have pointed out many times that both sides must protect this climate that has been created. Because this is the only way we will be able, after the elections, to take advantage of any room for agreement and I do not think it is useful to include the topic of Greek-Turkish relations in the pre-election period, which is currently ongoing in both countries.

I also had the opportunity to thank the Minister, my friend Sameh, for Egypt’s steadfast support to the Republic of Cyprus.

We strongly support the efforts of the President of the Republic of Cyprus, our common friend, Nikos Christodoulides, to restart negotiations, so that we can lead to a fair and sustainable solution to the Cyprus problem, a solution of a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation compatible with the European acquis, a solution based on United Nations Security Council Resolutions.

In general, in recent years Greece has actively participated in efforts to resolve issues that threaten peace and stability in our region, from the Western Balkans to the African continent and the Middle East.

We talked about the situation in the Middle East, about the need for de-escalation and great caution, especially during this period of religious holidays, and in this the role of Greece and Egypt is very important.

We remain in contact with all sides and I would like to congratulate you, Mr. Minister, personally for the initiatives you have taken in this direction. I would especially like to refer to the one last month in Sharm-El Sheikh, which we also talked about privately.

And I would like to say here that on Friday, April 21, a meeting on Syria is being organized for the first time in Greece, with the participation of the special envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Pedersen, with whom you also spoke just yesterday, and with all the envoys of the member states of the European Union for Syria present.

In recent years, ladies and gentlemen, Greek foreign policy has been taking initiatives and our international role is slowly changing from that of an observer to that of an honest mediator.

EU-Egypt relations are also a topic we will cover at the working dinner. However, we welcome the adoption from now of the new priorities of the European Union – Egypt Partnership 2021-27.

Greece, as a member state of the European Union, participated and contributed by supporting the value of highlighting Egypt’s strategic role in the wider region.

And I would like here, both as a Greek and as a European, to thank Egypt for its essential contribution in dealing with irregular immigration.

My dear friend Sameh, thank you very much for your presence today here in Athens. Of course I wish it was longer but I hope you will come again soon with your friend Suzy, your wife. I am confident that Greece and Egypt will continue to work closely within the framework of our excellent strategic bilateral relations to promote peace, security, prosperity of our peoples and the entire region.

Thank you very much again for your presence.