In recent days there has been intense diplomatic activity between Greece-Egypt and Egypt-Turkey, since on the one hand we had the short but productive visit of the Greek Prime Minister to the country of the Pharaohs and his meeting with Egyptian President Sisi and on the other hand the visit of the Egyptian Minister of Industry and Trade Ahmed Samir Saleh to Turkey, where he met with his counterpart Mehmet Fatih Kacır, with whom it was reportedly agreed to start preparations for a joint and inclusive industrial cooperation agreement between their countries.
What was discussed and decided at the Mitsotakis-Sisi meeting
Analyzing the statements of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis after his meeting with the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el Sisi and his visit to the memorial of the Greek Fallen in the Battle of El Alamein, which appear in detail on the official website of the Greek Prime Minister, we note the following:
The brief meeting was deemed productive by the Greek Prime Minister in which:
- The strategic depth of the Greek-Egyptian relationship was reaffirmed, the excellent relationship between the two leaders and Greece's gratitude was expressed for the dispatch of Egyptian military helicopters to our country to help us in the fight against forest fires.
- All the issues of Greek-Egyptian cooperation were discussed and an assessment was made of the geopolitical situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, where the two countries are factors of stability.New prospects for cooperation were also discussed, with emphasis on energy issues, as the interconnection between Greece and Egypt through an electricity cable is now a project which seems to enjoy the support of the European Union.
- The will of the two leaders to cooperate on issues related to labour, where Greece has a significant presence, whether we are talking about the primary sector or construction, was reaffirmed and the foundations were laid for a plan for the rapid implementation of this initial idea of cooperation in this sector.
Greece encourages legal immigration, but will be very strict on illegal immigration. Egypt can offer Greece assistance to meet our human resource needs.
- It was agreed to establish a High Cooperation Council with Egypt, with the presence of several members of the Council of Ministers, with its first meeting to take place in early 2024.
- Finally, it was stressed that Greek-Egyptian relations are independent, strong, not heteronomous and not dependent on any relations we may have with other countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.
This is something that has been made clear, this is the nature of these relations, this is a strategic relationship that Greece has developed with Egypt, which still has a lot to show in many different areas.
Valuation-Benefits for Greece
Our assessment is that the results of the Greek Prime Minister's visit to Egypt were extremely positive and very encouraging for the continuation of relations between the two countries.
We particularly stand by the agreement to establish a High Cooperation Council with Egypt with the presence of several members of the Council of Ministers, which indicates the will to further strengthen relations between the two countries in all fields and the provision of an institutionalized body to this end, the emphasis placed on cooperation in the energy sector and the particularly important electricity cable project that will connect Egypt-Crete-EU, passing underwater, crossing the Egyptian and Greek EEZs, as delineated in the partial agreement on the maritime zones of the two countries, thus interfering with the illegal delimitation of the Turkish-Libyan EEZs in accordance with the equally illegal and insubstantial Turkish-Libyan memorandum.
However, the news is that Greek-Egyptian relations are independent and strong, not affected by relations between Egypt and Turkey, Greece and Turkey, etc.In our opinion, the agreement between the two countries on the legal migration of Egyptians to Greece is a checkmate move from the Greek side, who will be able to find work legally, especially in the primary sector where our country has a shortage of workers and the clarification that Greece will be very strict with illegal immigration.
The visit of the Egyptian Minister of Industry and Trade Ahmed Samir Saleh to Turkey
On the opposite side of the above, we had the visit of Egyptian Minister of Industry and Trade Ahmed Samir Saleh to Turkey , where he met with his counterpart Mehmet Fatih Kacır, with whom it was reportedly agreed to start preparations for a joint and inclusive industrial cooperation agreement between their countries, which Turkish media reportedly emphasized, noting:
"Turkish Minister Kacır hosted the Egyptian Minister of Industry and Trade Saleh and his delegation at the Ministry. During the meeting, Kacır said relations between the two countries in the fields of industry, critical technologies, research and development, investment and entrepreneurship should be developed.
Kacır said that joint industrial investment projects can be made and thus a common benefit can be created in terms of security of supply and export potential. Samir also expressed his pleasure to meet to improve mutual relations and said they will work to promote cooperation between the two countries and that Egypt will provide the necessary facilities to overcome the difficulties faced by Turkish investors. In addition, the two ministers decided to start preparations for a joint and inclusive industrial cooperation agreement.
In addition to the above, according to international media, the possibility of creating a Turkish industrial zone in Egypt was discussed. The two sides discussed the possibility of establishing a joint project by June 2024, particularly in the furniture, carpet and chemical industries. During the meeting, Egyptian Minister Samir said a proposed joint memorandum of understanding would cover industrial cooperation, transfer of technical expertise, technical training, university and pre-university education, industrial investment and agricultural industrialisation.
Samir also expressed hopes for joint production projects in Egypt and exports to various countries, saying that Egypt offers many privileged advantages for companies exporting abroad.
The Turkish minister said the visit of the Egyptian delegation heralds the start of a new phase of economic cooperation between the two countries. He stressed the importance of strengthening industrial and technological cooperation, saying Turkey has 354 industrial zones, while the industrial sector contributes $240 billion to the Turkish economy, or 27 percent of national revenues. Samir invited his Turkish counterpart to visit Cairo to follow up on the results of the visit and consider future cooperation projects between the two countries.
Valuation-Benefits for Turkey
The above-mentioned highlights the strengthening of Turkey-Egypt relations in the industrial sector, trade, investment, research and development, business and education.
However, there is no mention of cooperation in the defence industry of the two countries, a topic we have extensively touched upon in an earlier article, in which we revealed Erdogan's plan for the Castelorizo-Turkey memorandum and Cyprus EEZ, noting among other things:
The Egyptian willingness to establish new production lines of weapon systems and equipment and not only in cooperation with the Turkish side, which will open up prospects and a wider scope for entering the Arab and African markets, and the call for Turkish defense companies to participate in the Egyptian Defence Exhibition (EDEX-2023) scheduled for December 2023, leave no room for doubting the intentions of cooperation in the defense industry of the two countries.
Conclusion
From the above we understand the prominent importance of Egypt for Greece and Turkey on a number of issues such as sovereignty in the Southeastern Mediterranean, Libya, Cyprus, energy, the Palestinian issue, the illegal Turkish-Colibian memorandum, the EEZ and others.
However, Greek-Egyptian relations have proven over time to be strong and solvent and therefore we believe that they will last and continue, unlike Turkish-Egyptian relations which are opportunistic on Erdogan's part, without any background.
