Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis have affirmed their keenness to boost mutual cooperation on the bilateral level, especially in investment, trade exchange, as well as energy and power linkage.

In a phone call on Friday, El-Sisi and Mitsotakis also agreed on the the importance of intensified political consultations between the two countries on issues of mutual concern, especially the developments in the Eastern Mediterranean region, Presidential Spokesman Ahmed Fahmy said in a statement.

The two leaders also discussed enhancing the firm relations between the two countries at all levels, the spokesman noted.

Over the past several years, Egypt and Greece have intensified bilateral cooperation – especially in the political, energy, economic and military fields – as well as trilateral cooperation with the inclusion of Cyprus.

Cairo and Athens, along with Nicosia, have strengthened relations and cooperation in developing energy resources, combatting terrorism and signing new maritime border agreements.

Since November 2014, the leaders of the three countries have held nine summits to boost their trilateral cooperation in several fields and coordinate on regional issues of mutual concern, the last of which was in Athens in October 2021.

Egypt, Cyprus and Greece are part of the EastMed Gas Forum (EMGF), a Cairo-based international organisation that aims to establish a regional gas market in the Eastern Mediterranean and enhance trade relations among the member states.

Last December, Egypt and Greece signed an MoU on aeronautical and maritime search and rescue and an agreement on the employment of seasonal workers in the agricultural sector.

Egypt and Greece also signed an agreement in June to connect the two countries by extending a branch from a major subsea cable system to intensify cooperation in communication and IT and serve the increasing data traffic between Africa, Asia, and Europe.