Israel’s new ambassador to Greece has said the two countries have considerable potential to work together in shipping, following talks with Greek Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Vassilis Kikilias.

Israeli Ambassador Pninat Yanay, who arrived in Athens in August to take up her duties, described the meeting in a post on social media, saying the discussion had focused on strengthening cooperation in shipping and regional security.

She called Kikilias “an exceptional person in every respect” and said he had always spoken about Israel with warmth and sincerity, having long recognised the closeness, similarities and natural bonds between the two peoples.

Yanay said she had told the minister that he was among those who had genuinely helped lay the foundations of the “solid bridge” already built between Israel and Greece. She noted that during his time as Tourism Minister, from 2021 to 2023, Kikilias had recognised the potential to bring the two nations closer and had worked to expand tourism and air links between them.

“Today we spoke about the next chapter of this cooperation: the sea,” she wrote. “Greece is a global maritime power, with a great tradition, knowledge and experience, as well as a growing blue economy. Israel is a hub of innovation, technology and entrepreneurship.”

Combining those strengths, she said, could open new avenues for cooperation and deepen relations between the two countries still further.

The pair also discussed IMEC, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, an infrastructure initiative unveiled at the G20 summit in New Delhi in 2023 to link India and Europe via the Gulf and Israel. Yanay stressed the importance of developing alternative routes, including a major maritime corridor connecting Greece and Israel, “particularly at a time of major international developments”.

She thanked Kikilias for his longstanding friendship towards Israel and his role in strengthening ties, adding that he still remembers “almost every basketball court” in her country. Kikilias, an orthopaedic surgeon by training, played basketball professionally before entering politics.

The meeting closed with what she described as important ideas for advancing security, innovation and maritime connectivity. “The bridge between Israel and Greece is already strong,” she said. “Now is the time to keep building it at sea as well.”

Yanay, a lawyer, strategic adviser and media commentator, was appointed by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to succeed Noam Katz.