Cairo, Athens to Enhance Cooperation in Energy, Power Linkage

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi during summit talks held in Athens with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and the Greek Prime Minister in October 2021. (AFP)
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi during summit talks held in Athens with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and the Greek Prime Minister in October 2021. (AFP)
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Cairo, Athens to Enhance Cooperation in Energy, Power Linkage

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi during summit talks held in Athens with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and the Greek Prime Minister in October 2021. (AFP)
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi during summit talks held in Athens with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and the Greek Prime Minister in October 2021. (AFP)

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis have affirmed their keenness to boost mutual cooperation, especially in energy and power linkage.

During a phone conversation, the two leaders discussed enhancing the strong bilateral ties on all levels, according to Presidential Spokesman Ahmed Fahmy.

Sisi and Mitsotakis also stressed the significance of intensified political consultations between the two countries on issues of mutual concern, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias stressed in October the depth of relations between the two countries and their coordination on all issues of common interest.

This came in a joint press conference in Cairo after a meeting between the two top diplomats.

The two parties described the bilateral ties as “strategic,” explaining that it was agreed to strengthen economic and trade relations, especially on renewable energy.

In December 2022, Egyptian Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat witnessed in Cairo the signing of an agreement between Telecom Egypt and Grid Telecom, a subsidiary of the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) in Greece, on building a Mediterranean subsea system connecting Egypt and Greece.

The agreement came following an MoU signed in February 2022 during Talaat’s visit to Greece.

Talaat noted that the new cable is one of the shortest paths for data transmission to the Balkans in Eastern Europe and from there to other destinations in Western Europe, which contributes to strengthening Egypt’s strategic position as a global center for communications services and data traffic between the East and West.



Netanyahu Aide Faces Indictment over Gaza Leak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Netanyahu Aide Faces Indictment over Gaza Leak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces indictment on security charges pending a hearing, Israel's attorney general has said, for allegedly leaking top secret military information during Israel's war in Gaza.

Netanyahu's close adviser, Jonatan Urich, has denied any wrongdoing in the case, which legal authorities began investigating in late 2024.

Netanyahu has described probes against Urich and other aides as politically motivated and on Monday said that Urich had not harmed state security. Urich's attorneys said the charges were baseless and that their client's innocence would be proven beyond doubt, reported Reuters.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said in a statement late on Sunday that Urich and another aide had extracted secret information from the Israeli military and leaked it to German newspaper Bild.

Their intent, she said, was to shape public opinion of Netanyahu and influence the discourse about the slaying of six Israeli hostages by their Palestinian captors in Gaza in late August 2024.

The hostages' deaths sparked mass protests in Israel and outraged hostages' families, who accused Netanyahu of torpedoing ceasefire talks that had faltered in the preceding weeks for political reasons.

Netanyahu vehemently denies this. He has repeatedly said that Hamas was to blame for the talks collapsing, while the group has said it was Israel's fault no deal had been reached.

Four of the six slain hostages had been on the list of more than 30 captives that Hamas was set to free if a ceasefire had been reached, according to a defense official at the time.

The Bild article in question was published days after the hostages were found executed in a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza. It outlined Hamas' negotiation strategy in the indirect ceasefire talks and largely corresponded with Netanyahu's allegations against the militant group over the deadlock.

Bild said after the investigation was announced that it does not comment on its sources and that its article relied on authentic documents. The newspaper did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

A two-month ceasefire was reached in January this year and included the release of 38 hostages before Israel resumed attacks in Gaza. The sides are presently engaged in indirect negotiations in Doha, aimed at reaching another truce.

In his statement on Monday, Netanyahu said Baharav-Miara's announcement was "appalling" and that its timing raised serious questions.

Netanyahu's government has for months been seeking the dismissal of Baharav-Miara. The attorney general, appointed by the previous government, has sparred with Netanyahu's cabinet over the legality of some of its policies.