Greek PM Kyriacos Mitsotakis and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in CairoPrime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is in Cairo for an official visit to Egypt on Monday.
Mitsotakis was received at the airport of the Egyptian capital by Deputy Minister of Oil and Mineral Wealth of Egypt, Tarek El-Molla and the Greek Ambassador to the country, Nikos Garilidis.
The Prime Minister then went to the Monument to the Unknown Soldier, where he laid two wreaths, one at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier and one at the tomb of the President, Anwar Sadat.
Mitsotakis met with the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi at the Ittihadia Presidential Palace in Cairo.
The meeting was followed by statements by the two leaders.
“There are deep friendly relations between Greece and Egypt and the first contacts between the two peoples took place 3,000 years ago. Cooperation at the economic and military level has intensified in recent years, either bilaterally or multilaterally, together with Cyprus,” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in a statement after meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Cairo.
“Mr. Mitsotakis and I examined a number of aspects of our relationship from economic exchanges to tourism cooperation. We also exchanged views on regional developments. I stressed the need to respect international law and the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of states in the wider region. I stressed the need to strengthen the tripartite mechanism between Greece, Cyprus and Egypt. On the Palestinian issue, I referred to the Egyptian initiative to rebuild Gaza. For Libya, I emphasise the need for an electoral process at the end of the year and the withdrawal of foreign troops,” added Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
For his part, Mitsotakis said: “Our common goals are not to have new adventures in our neighborhood. A typical example is the partial demarcation of the maritime zones between us, which is accomplished through peace and stability in the wider region, and I expect that there will be a total demarcation of our maritime zones soon.
“We also discussed the Cyprus issue with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. It does not mean a solution beyond the binding framework set by the UN resolutions. In other words, a bi-zonal bi-communal federation, a solution compatible with the Republic of Cyprus as an EU member.
Allegations of two states are out of the question, especially when accompanied by threats of opening raids and installing a drone base in the Occupied Territories.
“We also discussed developments in Libya. We support peace and order in the neighbouring country and the basic precondition is the withdrawal of all foreign troops and mercenaries and finally the holding of elections before the end of the year.
“Mr. Sisi shares our deep annoyance for the non-participation of Greece in the “Berlin Process” in a few days. I briefed President Sisi on my meeting with Erdogan. Prospects for the deepening of Greek-Turkish relations on issues such as the economy and climate change so that they can de-escalate tensions from our unbridled differences, such as the demarcation of the Exclusive Economic Zone.”
Mitsotakis in his statements immediately after his meeting with Sisi referred to a new environment and energy agreement signed by the two countries. He said that this is a step that serves the well-being of the peoples of Greece and Egypt and spoke about the electrical interconnection of the two countries through a submarine cable.
He noted that it will transport to Greece and Europe electricity that will be produced exclusively from renewable sources and that this is a “green” project.
“The relevant memorandum is practically ready”, he stressed, emphasizing that “it transforms our seas into fields of cooperation, development and prosperity for our peoples”.
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