Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias met with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry in Cairo, to discuss an exclusive economic zone agreement between the two countries.
On his one-day trip, Dendias met successively with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.
FM @NikosDendias 's day in #Cairo- mtgs w/ 🇪🇬 President @AlsisiOfficial & FM #Shoukry
Focus on:
📌Strong ties & growing cooperation b/w #Greece & #Egypt
📌Exchange of views on regional dvpts
📌Bilateral issues & delimitation of maritime zones📸 highlights ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/Wj3TEKnnVX
— Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών (@GreeceMFA) June 18, 2020
In a statement on his return to Greece, the Greek Minister said, "I had the honour of being received by the President of Egypt, Mr. Al Sisi, to whom I conveyed warm greetings from the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. I also conveyed to him our country’s determination to strengthen our ties of friendship and cooperation with Egypt."
"Immediately afterwards, I had long talks with my close friend the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sameh Shoukry. We discussed regional issues, developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, Libya, Turkey’s provocations. Finally, today we resumed our negotiations on an agreement on the economic zones between Greece and Egypt," he concluded.
Στις διευρυμένες συνομιλίες των αντιπροσωπειών Ελλάδας και Αιγύπτου για τις περιφερειακές εξελίξεις, τα διμερή θέματα και την οριοθέτηση των θαλασσίων ζωνών. pic.twitter.com/WKkgJSpxuQ
— Nikos Dendias (@NikosDendias) June 18, 2020
Before Dendias meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Sukri, he told Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram that “Greece and Egypt have long sought to create conditions for stability and development for the region."
The Foreign Minister said that the Mediterranean is a bridge of friendship, understanding, cooperation and trust between the peoples of Greece and Egypt, while recalling that “the Greek presence in Alexandria and Cairo is alive, with the communities of Greek expatriates and the Patriarchate of Alexandria and the Saint Catherine Monastery in Sinai contribute to the economic, social and cultural life of Egypt.”
“All of the above is clear proof of Egypt’s religious freedom and makes it an example to follow,” he added.
But, as he pointed out, “today, stability and security in the Mediterranean are threatened” as Turkey violates international law, both with the illegal and invalid memorandum it signed with Libya’s Muslim Brotherhood government and with its involvement in the Libyan civil war, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
“Greece and Egypt, the two oldest civilisations in the Mediterranean, have always had open borders and the sea between us has always united us instead of dividing us. With its unacceptable interference and its illegal actions, Turkey seeks to abolish our common maritime borders, our common path to cooperation, development, prosperity,” he continued.
