Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has forged closer ties with Israel after signing a memorandum of cooperation in research and development in Jerusalem which included Cyprus.
The meeting between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades came after Greece and Cyprus were among the first countries to dispatch water-dropping aircraft to help put out a devastating fire in Israel last month which also prompted discussion for the formation of a regional emergency force.
Tsipras reiterated his aim to make Greece a transportation hub for natural gas from Israeli and Cypriot reserves, while the three discussed cooperation in renewable energy.
Whilst in Jerusalem, Tsipras also made an official visit to the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theofilos who bestowed honours of the Greek PM before taking him to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which the National Technical University of Athens is helping to restore.