Further deepening of the Athens-Cairo cooperation

Greece and Egypt “serve joint principles – stability and security in the East Mediterranean” and want to avoid “new adventures in our neighborhood,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said after meeting in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi on Monday.

Mitsotakis said an example of bilateral initiative and positive model was “the partial delineation of the maritime zones we share.” The agreement he said produced “a fait accompli of peace and legality in the East Mediterranean.” This he expects will later be expanded to include the remaining width of the shared maritime areas.

He said they discussed the Cyprus issue – for which Mitsotakis thanked President Sisi for Egypt’s consistent support toward a resolution of a bizonal bicommunal federation -, developments in Libya – especially the withdrawal of all foreign forces for the contry’s stability -, and Greek-Turkish relations. Al Sisi, he said, shared Greece’s displeasure that Greece was not invited to the next Berlin Process meeting on Libya taking place on Wednesday, while Greece supported Egypt in its concerns over the stable water supply of the Nile River waters.

A new environmental and energy agreement the two countries signed during this visit is a step serving both peoples’ prosperity, he said, referring to a submarine cable linking two countries’ electricity. He said the cable will transfer to Greece and Europe electric power produced entirely by renewable sources.

As government sources added, both countries participate in regional collaboration groups, including the trilateral one with Cyprus, the East Mediterranean Gas Forum and the newly founded Friendship Forum, all of which are based on International Law, good neighborhood relations and the promotion of peace and stability in the Mediterranean.

President Sisi

“Between Greece and Egypt there are deep ties of friendship, and the two peoples first came into contact 3,000 years ago,” President Sisi said after their meeting. In recent years collaboration on economic and military levels – either bilaterally or with Cyprus – has become more intense, he added.

Among the issues they discussed, Sisi said, were furthering economic relations and tourism collaboration, and they exchanged views on regional development. He underlined the need for respect of International Law and the principle of non-intervention in other countries’ domestic affairs in the region, and said it was necessary to boost trilateral collaboration among Greece, Egypt and Cyprus.

Mitsotakis is in Egypt by invitation of Sisi, who has paid a visit to Athens seven months ago, diplomatic sources said, and is part of Greek efforts to improve bilateral cooperation.