The will to expand the strategic cooperation between Greece and Egypt was expressed both in the private meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Gerapetritis with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Soukri and in the tripartite meeting with the participation of the Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs Constantinos Kobos, in the context of the 78th General Session UN Assembly in New York.

In more detail, in the bilateral meeting of Giorgos Gerapetritis with Sameh Soukri, strategic relations and the will to expand cooperation in various fields, including the economy and the employment of Egyptian workers in sectors with increasing needs, were confirmed.

Subsequently, during the tripartite meeting with the participation of the Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Gerapetritis, Sameh Soukri and Konstantinos Kombos discussed the strengthening of cooperation in civil protection, economy and tourism, interconnectivity and within the EU, as well as the electrical interconnection project “GREGY Interconnector”, green energy transfer from Egypt to Europe via Greece. In fact, special emphasis was placed on the design and implementation of electrical interconnection projects. Greece and the Republic of Cyprus are closely linked with Egypt, whose rapprochement and relations with the EU they facilitate and promote, as they consider Egypt a key factor for regional stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The three ministers agreed to promote stability and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean, and that the next tripartite, at the level of leaders, will be held in Cairo by the end of the year, as announced in a post by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on social media.

Highlighting the importance of this tripartite cooperation scheme, the Foreign Minister described it as a successful model of multilateral cooperation.

Greek diplomacy attaches particular importance to the promotion of multilateral cooperation, to the creation of synergies with the countries of our region, namely, North Africa and the Middle East, in order to maintain stability and security in the region.

Bilateral relations between Greece and Egypt are characterized as excellent, as the two countries remain pillars of stability in an extremely unstable environment.

The strategic cooperation between Greece and Egypt is based on the strong historical ties of the two countries and the mutual will to ease tensions and consolidate peace in the wider Eastern Mediterranean region.

The main manifestation of the strategic nature of bilateral cooperation is the Agreement on the Delimitation of Exclusive Economic Zones (2020), in accordance with the International Law of the Sea.

Greece and Egypt are converging on a number of critical regional issues. Greece supports Egypt’s mediating role in the Middle East.

Greece’s goal is to consolidate its regional role as an energy hub. In this context, it supports the Greece-Egypt “GREGY Interconnector” electrical interconnection project, through a submarine cable. The cable will transport 100% green energy from Egypt to Greece and by extension to the EU, produced from renewable energy sources. This Greek investment in the electrical interconnection between Egypt and Greece is very important. Essentially, it will allow Greece to consolidate its role as an energy hub, transferring clean energy to the European Union.

It is recalled that Giorgos Gerapetritis met for the first time with his Egyptian counterpart at the beginning of August in El Alamein, in the context of the Prime Minister’s visit there and his meeting with the Egyptian President, during which it was agreed to establish a High Cooperation Council with Egypt , with the presence of many members of the Council of Ministers.

Giorgos Gerapetritis also had a separate meeting on August 5 with his Egyptian counterpart, with whom they discussed regional issues as well as the organization of the First Greece-Egypt Cooperation Council which is planned to take place in Greece in early 2024.

Equally important was the tripartite meeting of the foreign minister with his counterparts from Cyprus and Jordan. Emphasis was placed on cooperation in the fields of culture, tourism, energy, trade, agriculture and food security, water management, environmental protection, health and investment attraction.