CAIRO – 11 April 2023: Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said he discussed with his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, cooperation regarding the power linkage project between the two countries besides a number of major issues, including border demarcation.
In a press conference following a meeting between the foreign ministers on Tuesday in Athens, Shoukry shed light on the ongoing cooperation with Greece on power linkage by transferring electricity from Egypt to Europe via Greece.
Egypt-EU cooperation
Areas of cooperation between Egypt and Greece also include benefiting from the momentum caused by the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) held last November in Egypt and the growing reliance on clean energy sources amid keenness to curb global warming, Shoukry said during the presser.
Shoukry added that providing power generated by solar and wind power as well as green hydrogen to Europe enhance the commercial and economic relations between the two sides.
Egypt and Greece are cooperating to implement a power linkage project, which is developed by Copelouzos Group’s ELICA SA with investments worth 3.5 billion euros.
The project, known as GREGY, aims at transferring 3,000 MW of electricity from North Africa’s Egypt to Europe via Greece through a mega undersea energy interconnection cable.
The power transferred will help Europe replace 4.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually and reduce carbon emissions by millions of tons per year, Copelouzos Group said earlier.
During today’s presser, Shoukry affirmed the Egyptian appreciation of Greece’s support to Egypt within the European Union (EU) frameworks, hailing also the partnership and extended political cooperation between the two countries.
Border demarcation
A number of major issues were discussed during the foreign ministers’ meeting today, including border demarcation, Shoukry said.
In this regard, the ministers highlighted the need for each party to consider the interests of the other party within the framework of the international law, the international legitimacy, and other laws governing this issue.
In August 2020, Egypt and Greece signed a landmark maritime demarcation deal to establish an exclusive economic zone between the two countries and maximise benefits from natural resources available in their exclusive economic zones.
‘Strategic relations’
Shoukry hailed the relations between Egypt and Greece as “strategic” on the political, security, military, and economic levels.
He also voiced mutual keenness to continue working to support the Egyptian-Greek relations during the coming period.
“It is a strategic relationship based on the principles of good neighborliness, mutual respect and joint action to promote peace and stability,” Shoukry stated.
Trilateral cooperation
Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus are scheduled to hold their trilateral meeting by the second half of 2023, Shoukry said.
He reiterated Egypt’s appreciation of the trilateral cooperation gathering Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus, and the achievements made during their consecutive summits with regard to expanding cooperation and projects that benefit their peoples.
Normalization with Turkey
During the presser, Shoukry said Egypt has positively responded to Turkey’s desire to normalize the Egyptian-Turkish relations.
He added that he is scheduled to visit Ankara within two days to continue the path of normalization that Egypt and Turkey have started.
Shoukry stressed that the normalization of Egyptian-Turkish relations will be based on the principles of good neighborliness, mutual respect, non-interference in the internal affairs, achievement of peace and stability, and avoiding any actions that disturb regional peace.
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