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.



EU’s Kallas Says She Hopes for Political Agreement on Easing Syria Sanctions

In this photograph taken on January 12, 2025, a vendor waits for customers at her mobile shop in the Damascus Tower market, which specializes in the smart phone business, in the Syrian capital. (AFP)
In this photograph taken on January 12, 2025, a vendor waits for customers at her mobile shop in the Damascus Tower market, which specializes in the smart phone business, in the Syrian capital. (AFP)
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EU’s Kallas Says She Hopes for Political Agreement on Easing Syria Sanctions

In this photograph taken on January 12, 2025, a vendor waits for customers at her mobile shop in the Damascus Tower market, which specializes in the smart phone business, in the Syrian capital. (AFP)
In this photograph taken on January 12, 2025, a vendor waits for customers at her mobile shop in the Damascus Tower market, which specializes in the smart phone business, in the Syrian capital. (AFP)

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday she hopes a political agreement on easing Syria sanctions can be reached at a gathering of European ministers next week.

EU foreign ministers will discuss the situation in Syria during a meeting in Brussels on Jan. 27.

European officials began rethinking their approach towards Syria after Bashar al-Assad was ousted as president by opposition forces led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, which the United Nations designates as a terrorist group.

Some European capitals want to move quickly to suspend economic sanctions in a signal of support for the transition in Damascus. Others have sought to ensure that even if some sanctions are eased, Brussels retains leverage in its relationship with the new Syrian authorities.

“We are ready to do step-for-step approach and also to discuss what is the fallback position,” Kallas told Reuters in an interview.

“If we see that the developments are going in the wrong direction, then we are also willing to put them back,” she added.

Six EU member states called this month for the bloc to temporarily suspend sanctions on Syria in areas such as transport, energy and banking.

Current EU sanctions include a ban on Syrian oil imports and a freeze on any Syrian central bank assets in Europe.