Cypriot summit to cause stronger alliances: Expert

CAIRO – 21 November 2017: "The tripartite summit of Egypt, Cyprus and Greece is the launching pad of a stronger political, economic and strategic alliance," professor of political science at the American University in Cairo Tarek Fahmi said in press remarks on Tuesday.

Fahmi further explained that this strong alliance between the three countries establishes the framework of a forthcoming military and strategic alliance between them.

“Given the long-standing anonymity between Greece and Turkey, the alliance creates another form of pressure on the Turkish regime, which openly buoys up the Muslim brotherhood and serves as a safe haven for their top leaders,” Saeed Sadek, a professor of political sociology at the American University in Cairo, told Egypt Today on Tuesday.

Sadek also slid on the significance of the summit in preserving Egypt’s economic interests in regard to the gas shares, which raises the ire of turkey, especially since Turkish troops are still stationed in the northern side of the Cypriot Island amid unsettled political fuss.

Sadek also praised President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi's long-running attempts to settle the demarcation of the maritime boundaries since assuming presidency in 2014.
President Sisi arrived in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia on Monday morning for a two-day visit to take part in the fifth tripartite summit alongside his Greek and Cypriot counterparts.

In November 2015, President Sisi issued a decision to approve a framework agreement signed in 2014 between Egypt and Cyprus on cooperation in the development of gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea.

Egypt and Cyprus also signed an agreement in February 2015 allowing the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company and the Cyprus Petroleum Company to transport natural gas via a direct offshore pipeline from Cyprus to Egypt, enhancing the bilateral cooperation.