President El-Sisi Meets Cypriot President in Athens

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met, this morning, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades in Athens, Greece.

The Spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency stated that President El-Sisi praised the continuous development and rapprochement in bilateral ties between Egypt and Cyprus at various levels. His Excellency stressed Egypt's keenness to continue activating cooperation frameworks, whether at the bilateral level or through the tripartite cooperation mechanism that brings together Egypt, Cyprus and Greece. Intensive consultation was also held concerning various issues and regional developments, especially with regard to means of meeting the challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean.

For his part, the Cypriot President expressed his country's appreciation for the strength and robustness of the ever developing relations between the two countries at various levels.

President Anastasiades stressed his country’s aspiration to further bilateral cooperation and develop friendship between the two countries and strengthen the trilateral cooperation mechanism with Greece. The Cypriot President also expressed his country's appreciation for Egypt's support for the Cyprus issue, in accordance with the relevant United Nations references and resolutions, in a way that enhances the security and stability of the region.

He also praised Egypt's role as a pillar of stability in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean and its efforts in the fight against terrorism and legal immigration.

The Spokesman added that the meeting discussed ways to enhance relations between the two countries in a number of areas of cooperation, especially in light of the outcomes of the Cypriot President’s last visit to Cairo in September 2021. This visit signaled the expansion of bilateral relations to the level of the joint higher committee headed by the two presidents, thus reflecting the distinguished strategic relations between the two countries.

Furthermore, the two sides stressed the importance of following up on the results of the joint higher committee and implementing what was agreed upon through providing a follow-up and evaluation mechanism for ministers and concerned experts and ensuring cooperation in various sectors, especially in the field of energy and electrical interconnection. They also agreed on the importance of removing any obstacles that hinder speeding up implementation steps of the pipeline project that will connect the Cypriot Aphrodite gas field with the Egyptian liquefaction plants so as to encourage export to European markets.

The meeting also touched on the latest regional developments and efforts aiming to reach a political settlement to the crises that hit some countries in the region. The meeting highlighted the developments of the Libyan crisis, the Renaissance Dam file, and Cyprus issue and the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean.