Sisi's Statement during Press Conference with Greek PM

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi gave a speech on Wednesday during a press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens.

Here is Sisi’s full speech:

Your Excellency Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis,

Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to express my sincere happiness to be here again in your friendly country. I would like to thank my dear friend, the Prime Minister, for the warm welcome and hospitality.

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On my own behalf and on behalf of the Egyptian government and people, I would like to convey our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victimes, the Greek citizens affected by the earthquake which has struck off the Aegean islands, escpecially the Greek island of Samos.

I stress Egypt’s full solidarity and support for Greece to help it overcome the repercussions of the earthquake.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We all know how deep the distinguished ties between our two peoples and our two friendly countries are, which extend through the ages of our shared history and the unique cultural and societal interaction. These ties have established a strategic relationship between our two countries.  Our political will and common determination have managed to enhance this relationship during the past few years whether in bilateral frameworks or through the tripartite cooperation mechanism bringing the two countries together with the Republic of Cyprus in addition to the continuous and regular political consultations on various regional and international issues.

My meeting today with His Excellency the Prime Minister was an important opportunity to exchange views on ways to make a quantum leap in bilateral cooperation relations at various levels. The aim is to promote all aspects of economic cooperation, especially with regard to facilitating and encouraging the flow of Greek investments, developing trade exchange rates, intensifying cooperation in the tourism and energy sectors and attaching importance to employing the momentum resulting from the eighth summit of the tripartite cooperation mechanism held in October 2020 to implement the projects that have been agreed upon.

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Our consultations today tackled the developments in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, given the circumstances the region has been witnessing: the escalations on a background of provocations and unilateral practices violating the rules of international law and the adoption of ideological policies supporting terrorist and extremism.

We agreed to continue solidarity between us along with all friendly countries in order to counter anything that might pose a threat against regional stability and security and to prevent any party from imposing its hostile stances, in a manner that preserves our national security requirements on the one hand and allows making use of the available natural resources on the other.

Based on this vision, we confirmed that the agreement on the designation of exclusive economic zones, signed between Egypt and Greece based on the rules of international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, represents an important step towards development, opening the way to benefiting from the wealth and resources of the Mediterranean Sea.

This shall also pave the way for the launch of the EastMed Gas Forum, which aims to maximize the interests of the peoples of the forum countries in connection with the natural gas reserves and the hydrocarbon wealth in the Eastern Mediterranean. In this respect, each country shall retain its sovereign right to explore these resources in its exclusive economic zones (EEZs) in accordance with the rules of international law and welcome cooperation with our international partners in this framework.

In a related context, we renewed our support for the principle of a comprehensive and just solution to the Cyprus issue based on the relevant Security Council resolutions. We also touched on the impact of the Libyan situation on the entire region, stressing that a comprehensive political solution in Libya remains the only way to achieve stability for this brotherly country.

This solution requires addressing the roots of the crisis properly by fully adhering to the relevant United Nations resolutions and the conclusions of the Berlin Conference and the Cairo Declaration, especially with regard to preserving the unity of the Libyan territories, dismantling armed militias, reuniting the country’s institutions and firmly confronting foreign interventions causing instability by transferring foreign terrorist fighters and weapons to extremist militias.

We have agreed on the urgent need to double the international effort to confront the threat of terrorism, including the countries supporting it, and to adopt decisive policies and positions to hold accountable the states' systems that violate the relevant Security Council resolutions. This can be done by supporting these groups through supplying them with funds, training and arms and providing them with safe haven and media platforms to incite terrorism.

In this regard, we emphasized that terrorism is a global phenomenon that should not be linked to any religion, civilization or a geographical region. We stressed the importance of upholding the values of moderation and a culture of tolerance in light of the need to respect beliefs and completely refuse directing any insults against the sacred religious symbols or fuelling feelings of hatred, hostility and intolerance.

In conclusion, allow me, Your Excellency the Prime Minister, to extend greetings to you all for the real interest you have shown through working to develop all aspects of cooperation and coordination between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the friendly Hellenic Republic. I sincerely wish you continued success in leading your country and your friendly people towards lasting stability and more prosperity.

Thank you.