Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry received on Thursday his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias in Cairo. The foreign ministers discussed a host of issues, including the maritime delimitation between the two countries, a statement by the Egyptian foreign minister said.

“The 12th round of technical negotiations between the two countries on delimiting the maritime borders was held,” Egypt’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ahmed Hafez said, adding that work has been ongoing between the two sides to reach agreement on the issue in the interests of the two friendly countries.

Shoukry stressed during the meeting the need to maintain the momentum in the relationship between Egypt and Greece during the past years, especially with regard to economic cooperation, Hafez said.

The ministry spokesperson added that Shoukry emphasized the need to urge Greek companies to increase their investments in Egypt to benefit from the promising opportunities in various fields and to boost the value of trade exchange to reflect the level of distinguished political relations.

On 9 June, Greece and Italy signed an agreement on maritime boundaries, establishing an exclusive economic zone between the two countries and resolving longstanding issues over fishing rights in the Ionian Sea.

The recently-signed agreement shed light on a possible Greek-Egyptian agreement and how both countries would gain from signing a subsequent agreement for an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

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The two ministers also discussed general and regional situations and issues, including the coronavirus pandemic, the Libyan issue, and the Palestinian file, the foreign ministry said.

In addition, Shoukry tackled with his Greek counterpart the latest developments in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) file, pointing to the worsening status the tripartite negotiations have reached due to the “Ethiopian intransigence” despite the seriousness shown by Cairo to reach a “fair and balanced agreement” that takes into account the interests of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.

Read more: ahram