The discussions were held in a meeting in Nicosia on Tuesday between Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades.

In October, Egypt, which is looking to become a regional energy hub, and Cyprus signed a memorandum of understanding on power linkage. The step was followed by a three-way MoU on power connectivity that also included Greece to establish power pipelines linking Africa with Europe.

Egypt, Cyprus, and Greece are part of the East Mediterranean 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 member states. The three countries recently held their ninth trilateral summit focusing on energy and boosting trilateral cooperation.

During his meeting with Shoukry on Tuesday, Cypriot President Anastasiades expressed his country's interest in furthering cooperation with Egypt and putting the proposed ventures into practice.

Shoukry congratulated the Cypriot side on assuming the presidency of the EMGF from Egypt at the beginning of 2022, a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said. He also underscored the significant role the forum plays in supporting regional cooperation in energy.

The meeting also addressed other projects, including in transport and agricultural, and ways to promote cooperation in investment and trade exchange.

The two countries established in September the higher Egyptian-Cypriot committee to push forward economic and political cooperation.

Shoukry also met separately with his Cypriot counterpart, Nikos Christodoulides, during which they signed an MoU for the exchange of training programs between the two sides.

They discussed issues of mutual concern, including developments in the Palestinian cause, Libya, and Syria, and highlighted the necessity of maintaining stability in the Middle East.

Shoukry stressed the need for cooperation to face climate change and Egypt's aspiration for joint work to make the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), scheduled for 2022 in Egypt, a success.

They tackled cooperation in health, energy, agriculture, transportation, culture, and consular topics, as well as the investments and trade exchange between the two countries, the Foreign Ministry's statement added.