El-Sisi and Mitsotakis held a meeting via video conference with the participation of the ministers of electricity and renewable energy, foreign affairs, petroleum and mineral resources, planning, and international cooperation from both sides.

Werner Hoyer, the president of the European Investment Bank (EIB), and governor of the Central Bank of Egypt Tarek Amer also attended the meeting.

The discussion included enhancing cooperation in power linkage and natural gas as well as solar energy, green hydrogen, and climate change, presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement.

The meeting comes as part of ongoing cooperation between the two countries as Egypt prepares to host the UN Climate Change Conference 2022 (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh in November, the spokesman noted.

The two sides agreed on moving forward to implement the agreements signed between the two countries in these sectors within the bilateral framework as well as the trilateral cooperation mechanism with Cyprus.

Egypt, Cyprus, and Greece have intensified their trilateral cooperation mechanisms over the past decade, signing several agreements in several fields, including a major deal to link their power grids in October last year.

Egypt will adopt a comprehensive approach during its presidency of COP27 and will take into account the priorities of all parties to make sure that the conference will yield positive results with regards to international climate action, El-Sisi said during the meeting.

Mitsotakis underscored Greece’s keenness to enhance cooperation with Egypt on COP27, affirming trust in Egypt’s presidency of the conference.

The Greek PM highlighted the distinguished Egypt-Greece relations, affirming his country’s keenness to expand these relations, especially in light of Egypt’s role in enhancing joint action mechanisms in the face of the challenges currently facing the Mediterranean region.

El-Sisi also praised the special relations with Greece and the level of political coordination between the two countries.

The president expressed appreciation for Greece's stances towards Egypt on the bilateral level and within the framework of the EU, adding that they reflect the strength of the long-standing historical relations binding the two countries.

Egypt, Greece and Cyprus: Intensive trilateral cooperation

Since assuming the presidency in 2014, El-Sisi has boosted relations with Greece and Cyprus.

The three countries are part of the EastMed Gas Forum (EMGF), a Cairo-based international organisation that aims to establish a regional gas market in the Eastern Mediterranean and enhance trade relations among the member states.

During the Sixth Ministerial Meeting of EMGF held in Cairo in November, Egypt and Greece signed an MoU to enhance cooperation in the fields of liquefied natural gas trading, relevant research and exploration activities, and the linking of both countries' natural gas pipeline networks.

The leaders of Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus have held several tripartite summits over the past several years, the last of which was in October in Athens.

During the ninth trilateral summit in the Greek capital in October, the three countries signed a trilateral agreement on power linkage in a summit gathering the leaders of the three countries in Athens.

Earlier in the same month, Egypt signed an accord with Cyprus on linking the two countries’ electricity transmission networks and an agreement with Greece on an undersea cable that will transmit power from North Africa to Europe.

Late last year, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, COP27 President Designate, stressed in a meeting in Nicosia with his Cypriot counterpart, Nikos Christodoulides, the need for cooperation to face climate change in light of COP27.