Greek Foreign Minister: Egypt Is One of The Most Important Strategic Partners

Greek Foreign Minister, George Gerapetritis spoke about Greek-Egyptian relations and a number of regional and international issues, in an interview with Al Qaheera TV  journalist Passant Akram.

How do you evaluate the relations between the two countries?

I am thrilled to be here in Egypt. This is one of my first visits abroad as Foreign Minister of Greece and I am very happy and honored to be here, because we maintain very strong ties with Egypt. We represent two ancient civilizations, we have a lot of things in common as peoples, as states, we do share common values and our bilateral relations are extremely good at the moment.

The Greek company Copelouzos Group announced its cooperation in a project with Abu Dhabi and Egypt about renewable energy that will reach Europe. So, how does your government intend to strengthen economic cooperation with Egypt in this field?

To begin with, I think it is very important that we cooperate in the field of energy, because energy will be a fast-growing sector in the next few decades. So, it is very important, that countries with common views work together in the field of energy mainly in the Eastern Mediterranean. Especially, when it comes to the electrical interconnection, it is crucial that we have this significant investment on the electrical interconnector between Egypt and Greece.

Essentially, that would allow Greece to consolidate its role as an energy hub given that this interconnection will enable the transfer of clean energy to the European Union. This is an investment of more than EUR 3 billion; it is very important indeed. The Greek government has encouraged this investment by promoting its incorporation into the list of European projects of common interest (PCI) and we hope that this project will be part of the European projects by the end of the year. It is also important, because it involves renewable energy sources in Egypt, with 2/3 coming from the wind and 1/3 from photovoltaics, solar energy. It is essential that we develop these synergies between our countries to promote sustainable growth and fight climate change.

Trade exchange has increased between Greece and Egypt in the past period. So, what is the Greek government’s vision for enhancing trade exchange and partnerships?

In terms of trade, the bilateral trade volume exceeds $ 2 billion per year. Now there is a couple of very important projects developed in Egypt by Greek entrepreneurs. For example, I especially refer to an investment made by the Greek Group in the Suez Canal, which will essentially concern waste management. And many other investments, for example, the Energean investment concerning gas exploration in Egypt.

During his meeting with President Sisi today, the Greek Prime Minister suggested that the two countries establish a High-Level Cooperation Council, comprised of officials not only from the Foreign Ministry or the Ministry of National Defense but also e.g. from the Ministry of Development or Energy. 

The members of this Council will work together with the aim of promoting those projects. We hope that within the first quarter of 2024, we will be able to host this Council and strengthen our bilateral relations in the sectors of trade and investments.

There is an Egyptian-Greek coordination regarding illegal immigration. What are the current mechanisms regarding the increasing rates of immigration from Africa?

As you know, we do have a huge problem of illegal immigration. Migration flows have increased in the Mediterranean basin during the last years, especially because of the conflicts both in Africa and the Middle East. There is a huge flow of immigrants coming to Europe through the Mediterranean. 

Egypt has been hosting a great number of immigrants, the latest being caused by the civil war in Sudan. I especially appreciate the attitude of the Egyptian government because it helped us in evacuating Greek people from Sudan and provided humanitarian aid to Sudanese refugees fleeing the country because of the war.

The situation is not good in Sahel, there are various countries which are suffering from internal conflicts, like Niger. I think we should be very cautious when dealing with illegal immigration because there is also the issue of human trafficking. Unfortunately, there are networks of smugglers operating and essentially taking advantage of the human suffering.

To this end, the European Union should cooperate with Egypt, which is a stable country, in order to prevent illegal migration. On the other hand, there is another aspect to consider in this regard, and that is legal migration. As you probably know, Egypt has recently signed a key agreement concerning the invitation of workers from Egypt to Greece and the establishment of a mechanism to actually facilitate Egyptian people coming to Greece to work, especially in the fields of agriculture and fisheries. 

 In the next months, we are going to further enhance this initiative to allow a bigger number of Egyptian workers to come to Greece and work in key economic sectors. It is important therefore to effectively halt and control illegal migration, while respecting fundamental human rights. On the other hand, it is essential to promote legal channels of migration and I think the agreement between Egypt and Greece is the best pattern for that.

Let’s move to Libya. What is your view regarding Libya?

Actually, there are a lot of problems in your neighborhood, the same happens also in Greece. We share the Mediterranean Sea, and we share problems. Both Egypt and Greece are pillars of stability in the broader region, and we very much cherish stability and prosperity in Egypt for that matter. 

Libya is a thorny issue; indeed, it has been a problem, over the last few years. We are aligned with the European Union and the United Nations on how to support the process leading up to general elections in the best possible way. We need to see the withdrawal of the foreign fighters and mercenaries. 

The country needs to get rid of all foreign military presence and especially the mercenaries currently in Libya. I think that the Libyan people should be allowed to express themselves democratically through free and fair elections, for a single voice to be articulated in Libya in the most democratic and painless way.

Let’s move to Türkiye. How do you assess the current Turkish position and efforts with Greece and Egypt?

As you probably know, we have had a process of getting together, at least of resetting, a more sincere and frank relationship with Türkiye. The truth is that in the last few years there was increased tension between the two countries, between Greece and Türkiye. There were verbal extremities and other incidents which deteriorated the relationship between the two countries. 

The truth is that the two delegations presided by President Erdogan and Prime Minister Mitsotakis had a good talk at the NATO summit in Vilnius. Myself, and Minister Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye, we have developed a channel of communication. What we want to do is actually try to promote a positive agenda with issues of common interest such as trade, economy, civil protection, tourism, overall development of the two countries, and then work on our relations. As you probably know, we do have a major dispute, which is the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone and the continental shelf. 

The position of Greece is that International Law must be respected and especially the Law of the Sea. We are considering to refer this dispute to the International Court of Justice in the Hague. We are relatively hopeful that given the tranquillity in the Aegean over the last few months we will be able to further develop our political dialogue.

Coming back to our bilateral relation with Egypt, it is very important that we concluded an Agreement on the delimitation of our Economic Zone with Egypt. 

It was an important agreement, not only because it essentially resolved a major issue that will allow the two countries to further develop their resources of wealth, but also because this is the pattern to follow: by discussing, negotiations, mutual compromises, and eventually reaching a win-win situation for both countries.

Regarding the Sudanese question, what is your vision of the current situation in Sudan and the role that Cairo plays in resolving the crisis?

Egypt has served as a mediator in many instances, and I think this is an indication of how important Egypt is not only for the Mediterranean but also for the Sahel and the Middle East. We have seen Egypt mediating in Sudan, in the Palestinian issue, also in Libya, I think it is a beneficial role that Egypt performs in this respect. Sudan suffers from an intense civil situation, which needs to be addressed promptly. 

I think we all must be very active because there is a humanitarian crisis evolving at the moment, not only with respect to immigration - people being forced to flee their countries and homes -, but also because there is an imminent threat of food insecurity which will be increased. So, I think we need to discuss it promptly and I think Egypt has an active role in this mediation. By all means, we encourage a solution that would be against any sort of violence and in favour of a democratic solution for the country.

How does Greece, as a member of the European Union and NATO, view the developments in the Russian - Ukrainian crisis and what is your view on the solution?

That is a very tough issue, you know that this is an ongoing, unjustified war, caused by the illegal invasion of Russia to a sovereign state, Ukraine. From the very beginning, Greece took a very clear stance, siding with the whole of the western world, in favour of Ukraine. We supported Ukraine in every possible manner that we considered, especially in the humanitarian and financial sector, but also in the field of military assistance. 

We clearly support a solution that would allow Ukraine to be integral and sovereign, that would essentially impose sanctions on those who are responsible for the current situation. We think that there are some very negative collaterals, after the war, not only the humanitarian crisis within Ukraine and the issue of the violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, but also an issue of food insecurity. As you probably know, a few days ago, Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative. That means that the flow of grain will be essentially controlled and limited. That will probably entail a scarcity of basic food. Therefore, we consider that we need to take further initiatives, in order for the international organisations, the European Union and NATO, to promote peace in the region.

Do you support Ukraine’s claim to join the European Union and NATO?

I was present at the last NATO Summit in Vilnius. The NATO Summit decided that there is going to be an upgrade in the relationship between NATO and Ukraine. It was decided that a High-Level Council will be set-up between NATO and Ukraine that will discuss all pending issues and will essentially get Ukraine closer to NATO. There is a process, a specific process that needs to be followed for every member to join NATO and the European Union. We clearly encourage this process, we are in favour of Ukraine approaching the two organisations, the same happened, as you know, with Sweden and Finland in the last NATO Summit. We are very hopeful that in the future, Ukraine will be a member of the European Union.

Finally, climate change has a great impact on the entire world. What is your view on the issue?

Actually, we suffered a lot this summer because of the climate change. As you know we had extremely high temperatures and we also had catastrophic wildfires. That was a very unfortunate situation. This is a situation that essentially threatens the bioclimatic balance of the globe, and we want to take some strong initiatives to allow for more drastic measures to be taken. 

Next year, Greece will be hosting the “Our Ocean” Conference regarding the preservation of the oceans. The truth is that this situation is getting worse, and I think there is only one way to address it, through global governance mechanisms. Unfortunately, it is not a matter of one country or two countries or even regional cooperation. We need to elevate this issue to the level of global governance and take some drastic measures, sometimes probably painful measures, that may slow the growth worldwide but will allow future generations to live in a better environment. We need to be a little bit more cautious with this phenomenon. Greece and Egypt can work together in strongly combating climate crisis.