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.



Israel Intensifies Use of Suicide Drones in Gaza

Palestinians inspect damage from an Israeli attack on a displacement shelter school in the Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza (AFP)
Palestinians inspect damage from an Israeli attack on a displacement shelter school in the Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza (AFP)
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Israel Intensifies Use of Suicide Drones in Gaza

Palestinians inspect damage from an Israeli attack on a displacement shelter school in the Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza (AFP)
Palestinians inspect damage from an Israeli attack on a displacement shelter school in the Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza (AFP)

Israel has ramped up its use of small suicide drones in Gaza in recent days, increasingly deploying quadcopter-style devices in targeted strikes, particularly against individuals, according to field sources who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat.
At least nine drones exploded in various areas across the Gaza Strip over a four-day period, with most of the strikes hitting targets inside displacement shelters, the sources said.
While Israel had used such drones sparingly since the war began, their deployment has expanded significantly in recent days, marking the first time they have been used in a concentrated manner to strike senior Palestinian resistance figures, prominent militants, and some employees working in the Hamas-run government.
The quadcopters are small, remotely detonated drones equipped with explosive charges. Designed for precision, they can ignite fires upon detonation, which often leads to a higher casualty toll—particularly in crowded shelters where fires can spread rapidly.
The sources reported an uptick in drone activity in the skies over several areas of the enclave, suggesting Israel may further escalate their use in the coming days as part of a strategy to eliminate targeted individuals.
Meanwhile, the United States said unexploded ordnance now litters much of the Gaza Strip following tens of thousands of Israeli airstrikes, rendering the territory “uninhabitable,” according to Reuters.