Greece’s close relations with Cyprus and Israel are confirmed by the signing of the EastMed Interstate Agreement in Zappeion in the afternoon between the three countries.

As part of the signing of the agreement, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met today with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, and earlier he had a meeting with the Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades.

Mr Mitsotakis and Mr Netanyahu reaffirmed the close relationship between Greece and Israel and discussed a deepening in the bilateral co-operation on many fronts, such as defense industry, investment flows and tourism.

During the discussion, developments in the wider region were also reviewed and both sides agreed in their analysis.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Benjamin Netanyahu agreed that working together to ensure stability in the region allows the development and well-being of all countries in our region.

Earlier, Mr Mitsotakis met with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Anastasiades, as part of the signing of the transnational agreement on the construction of the EastMed energy pipeline.

At the end of the meeting with Mr. Anastasiadis, and after exchanging wishes for the new year, Mr. Mitsotakis said that “the weather can be rainy and cold outside but the climate, as always, is very warm every time we receive the President of the Republic of Cyprus, especially on such an important day where Greece, Cyprus and Israel when we will sign the agreement on the EastMed pipeline. A very important energy project that is the cornerstone of a very important tripartite cooperation in the energy field and beyond”.

For his part, Mr. Anastasiadis said: “In Cyprus when it’s raining we say that it is a blessing because in our countries, especially the islands, are suffering from drought. Consequently, the blessing today is because it coincides with a historic event – as you have rightly noted – the signing of a trilateral, subsequently a four-way cooperation, which lays the groundwork for realistic pursuits which we set as a target from the start when we began the trilateral partnerships: That is, to have cooperation and not rivalry in the Middle East, especially on energy issues or anything that might connect the states of the region. So it’s really an important, historic day, and the talks we have together, but also with the Prime Minister of Israel, I think, lay the foundations for even stronger cooperation with the Middle East states”.