Deep concern over humanitarian situation in Gaza – For deal with Cairo: “Landmark day, recognizes Egypt’s deep strategic importance”
For a milestone day, which recognizes Egypt’s profound strategic importance to the stability and prosperity of Europe as a whole; said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, referring to the “Joint Declaration for a Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership” signed by the two sides. He also interpreted that Europe will not, under any circumstances, accept the forced displacement of Palestinians in Egypt.
Read the Euro-Egyptian Joint Declaration in detail (English)
“Milestone Day”
“It is indeed a great pleasure to be here in Cairo on this very special day for Europe-Egypt relations and for us, Greece and Cyprus, who have worked hard together to reach the point of upgrading our relationship to the level of a comprehensive and of strategic partnership”, said Kyriakos Mitsotakis in his opening statement at the meeting of European leaders with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the Egyptian capital.
“This is truly a landmark day that recognizes Egypt’s deep strategic importance to the stability and prosperity of not only the Eastern Mediterranean, but I would say Europe as a whole. Indeed, the draft Joint Declaration that we will sign today defines the various building blocks for the implementation of our intention to make this strategic partnership as deep as it needs to be,” the Prime Minister said.
He added: “Whether it’s economic matters or energy matters, we recognize the important role we can play in helping you not only stabilize the economy, but also ensure that you can provide jobs for young Egyptians by attracting foreign direct investments. Whether this is about energy, where projects such as the Greece-Egypt interconnection can play a key role, helping you to develop Renewable Energy Sources, but also ensuring that these renewable sources reach Europe and, in this sense, strengthen our energy security. Whether that means thinking about new and more ambitious projects, such as the ability, perhaps in the future, to store carbon dioxide in the geological formations that you have as a result of exploiting or depleting natural gas fields. Whether it is cooperation on issues such as immigration, where, first of all, we must recognize the enormous work that Egypt has done in terms of hosting immigrants and refugees from many countries facing serious political and economic difficulties.”
The Prime Minister also said that the Egyptian President rightly pointed out that if Egypt is prosperous and stable, this will help us stabilize other countries like Libya and Sudan, whose peoples may be driven to escape persecution, war but also economic desperation.
“And of course, as the President of the European Commission noted, it is extremely important to deal with traffickers who take advantage of the desperation of innocent people, to ensure that no other, new routes of illegal immigration to Europe are opened, but at the same time that we offer legal migration routes for young Egyptians looking for work in the European Union”, pointed out Mr. Mitsotakis.
He added: “We have worked very closely with Egypt in terms of our bilateral partnership. We have been welcoming Egyptians who wish to work in Greece for many decades. And I believe our collaboration can be a model for what we can achieve together as a result of this new comprehensive strategic partnership.”
Deep concern on the humanitarian situation in Gaza
He then referred to developments in Gaza and expressed his deep concern on the humanitarian situation by repeating the call for an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages.
“Let me also express my support for what President Christodoulidis said, that we cannot accept, under any circumstances, any forced displacement of Palestinians in Egypt. We recognize Egypt’s deep security concerns in this matter. I hope that we can work together, the European Union and Egypt, to explore how we can work again towards the only realistic long-term political solution to the Palestinian tragedy: and this is, of course, the two-state solution”he added.
And he noted: “Mr. President, to repeat that it is a great pleasure to be here, I am also particularly pleased to be with the President of the European Commission, my distinguished colleagues in the European Council. I believe that the presence of so many of us here today testifies to the special value we place on this strategic partnership”, he underlined.
The meeting between Mitsotakis and Sisi
The Prime Minister had a bilateral meeting earlier with the President of Egypt, before the start of the multilateral meeting of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and European leaders with the President of Egypt to upgrade EU-Egypt relations to a Comprehensive and Strategic Partnership.
During the meeting, the excellent level of bilateral relations was discussed, as Greece considers Egypt a strategic partner. The Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction with the upgrade of EU-Egypt relations to Comprehensive and Strategic cooperation, the implementation of which was spearheaded by Kyriakos Mitsotakis. He also underlined that the stability and prosperity of Egypt is of great importance to the EU.
During the meeting, as reported by the government, the decision of the two leaders to upgrade and deepen the strategic relationship of the two countries with their Joint Declaration on the establishment of a Greece-Egypt Supreme Cooperation Council (SCC) was confirmed, the first meeting of which will be held in Athens in the next period. Particular emphasis, they add, was given to energy cooperation and the Greece-Egypt electrical interconnection project (GREGY Interconnector), which will transfer clean electricity from Egypt to Greece, contributing to the energy security of the whole of Europe.
Regarding immigration, the Prime Minister noted that Egypt is a key country for the management of immigration for the entire EU. He stressed the need for Egypt’s cooperation in managing illegal immigration so that a new migration corridor from Libya to Crete does not open. Issues of regional interest were also discussed, with an emphasis on the latest developments in Gaza. The Prime Minister expressed his growing concern over the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and his appreciation for Egypt’s efforts and the responsible role it has played in the crisis. He stressed that it is of the utmost importance that there is no destabilization of the region.
Source: Skai
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