logo
Egypt courts Turkiye and Greece amid regional tensions

Egypt courts Turkiye and Greece amid regional tensions

Arab News16-05-2025

https://arab.news/wngpn
Two divergent Egyptian diplomatic efforts have caught the attention of analysts. First, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on May 7 to reaffirm the commitment of both to a proposed 3,000-megawatt North Africa-Europe undersea electricity cable. On the same day, Egyptian Public Business Sector Minister Mohammed Shimi met the Turkish Sahinler Group Board Chairman Kemal Sahin to explore investment opportunities. While these developments differ in nature, they highlight Egypt's attempts to build commercial and strategic ties with both Greece and Turkiye.
Turkiye and Egypt have ostensibly grown closer in recent years, as a decade-long diplomatic rift over support for the Muslim Brotherhood gave way to presidential exchanges in 2024. The relationship has become strategically important for both sides amid the geopolitical and economic volatility in the region. In 2024, bilateral trade reached $8.8 billion and the two countries signed at least 17 memorandums of understanding on partnership in various sectors, including trade, defense and energy, with the aim of boosting trade to $15 billion annually.
On the other hand, Egypt shares cordial relations with Greece and, in 2024, the two countries exchanged nearly $2 billion in trade. Egypt is cooperating with Greece to enhance energy exports to Europe at a time when the continent's energy supply is insecure. The EU's financial support for the undersea cable project highlights how critical this project is for diversifying energy sources and securing the Eastern Mediterranean. The Gaza war has underscored the fragility of energy infrastructure in conflict zones and highlighted the interconnectedness of regional energy markets.
Egypt seeks to become a regional energy hub in the Eastern Mediterranean, leveraging its gas reserves and strategic location
Zaid M. Belbagi
The agreement is also part of the broader spirit of collaboration between Egypt and Greece, as seen in 2020, when the two countries signed a maritime agreement delineating their exclusive economic zones. Turkiye declared this as 'null and void.' Interestingly, the maritime deal was announced shortly after a similar agreement between Turkiye and the Libyan Government of National Unity in 2019. Regional dynamics have changed since then, with the rapprochement between Egypt and Turkiye.
Although Egypt's relations with Greece and Turkiye are improving, the Turco-Greek relationship continues to be marked with disputes and differences. Only five years ago, tensions between the two escalated over maritime boundaries around Cyprus and natural gas exploration rights in the Eastern Mediterranean. Nonetheless, a glimmer of hope emerged in 2023, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Athens, followed by Mitsotakis' trip to Istanbul in the summer of 2024.
Indeed, the two countries have shown a willingness to bring stability back to the Mediterranean region and improve diplomatic ties. At the UN General Assembly in late 2024, they even appointed their foreign ministers to assess the possibility of negotiations over the continental shelf and exclusive economic zones. However, fundamentally competing energy interests and maritime boundaries will challenge this reconciliation. Energy and hydrocarbon resources have become increasingly insecure since 2022. While this makes cooperation in energy security necessary, it also makes control over energy supply lucrative for all parties.
In this context, Egypt's attempt to strengthen cooperation with both sides is notable. It could either succeed in fostering trilateral cooperation or embroil itself in a zero-sum game between the two rivals. However, these bilateral partnerships are not only an Egyptian attempt to counterbalance adversaries. They are also critical for Egypt to gain a foothold in an increasingly multipolar world order.
Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, Egypt has gained some importance as a regional mediator and investments from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye have enhanced its economic standing. Simultaneously, Egypt seeks to become a regional energy hub in the Eastern Mediterranean, leveraging its gas reserves and strategic location. It is also exploring the potential to import natural gas and liquify and reexport it, given the economic value of this exercise.
Cairo must maintain a delicate balance between the two historical rivals. If successful, its role will be cemented
Zaid M. Belbagi
Should the proposed undersea cable project prove successful, it will elevate Egypt's position as a gateway to North Africa and a regional leader in renewable energy. In today's times, being a pivotal energy hub between Africa and Europe is more valuable than ever. Hence the strategic maneuvering in the Eastern Mediterranean and attempt to balance relationships with both Greece and Turkiye.
Egypt's undersea cable agreement with Greece is not only a strategic move but also an economic necessity for the North African state as it seeks alternative and sustainable revenue. However, Cairo will be wary of antagonizing Turkiye, given the latter's outsized economic, military and diplomatic role not only in Egypt but also its neighborhood. From Libya to Sudan to Somalia, Turkiye's strategic influence in Africa makes it increasingly critical for Cairo to cooperate with it. Given Ankara's past attempts to obstruct the Greece-Cyprus-Israel Great Sea Interconnector project, Turkish opposition remains a concern.
Cairo must maintain a delicate balance between the two historical rivals. If successful, Egypt's role as a key mediator in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern political landscape will be cemented. As per the prospects of trilateral cooperation, gone are the days of the Ptolemaic Empire, when the predecessors of these three states were under one flag. Today, long-standing political rivalries and diverging energy and economic interests get in the way of meaningful cooperation. Whether Egypt can change this regional dynamic remains to be seen.
• Zaid M. Belbagi is a political commentator and an adviser to private clients between London and the Gulf Cooperation Council. X: @Moulay_Zaid

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Tunisia activists launch Gaza-bound convoy in ‘symbolic act'
Tunisia activists launch Gaza-bound convoy in ‘symbolic act'

Al Arabiya

timean hour ago

  • Al Arabiya

Tunisia activists launch Gaza-bound convoy in ‘symbolic act'

Hundreds of people, mainly Tunisians, launched on Monday a land convoy bound for Gaza, seeking to 'break the siege' on the Palestinian territory, activists said. Organizers said the nine-bus convoy was not bringing aid into Gaza, but rather aimed at carrying out a 'symbolic act' by breaking the blockade on the territory described by the United Nations as 'the hungriest place on Earth.' The 'Soumoud' convoy, meaning 'steadfastness' in Arabic, includes doctors and aims to arrive in Rafah, in southern Gaza, 'by the end of the week,' activist Jawaher Channa told AFP. It is set to pass through Libya and Egypt, although Cairo has yet to provide passage permits, she added. 'We are about a thousand people, and we will have more join us along the way,' said Channa, spokeswoman of the Tunisian Coordination of Joint Action for Palestine, the group organizing the caravan. 'Egypt has not yet given us permission to cross its borders, but we will see what happens when we get there,' she said. Channa said the convoy was not set to face issues crossing Libya, 'whose people have historically supported the Palestinian cause,' despite recent deadly clashes in the country that remains divided between two governments. Algerian, Mauretanian, Moroccan and Libyan activists were also among the group, which is set to travel along the Tunisian and Libyan coasts, before continuing on to Rafah through Egypt. After 21 months of war, Israel is facing mounting international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies. On June 1, the Madleen aid boat, boarded by activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and European parliament member Franco-Palestinian Rima Hassan, set sail for Gaza from Italy. But on Monday morning Israel intercepted it, preventing it from reaching the Palestinian territory. The UN has warned that the Palestinian territory's entire population is at risk of famine.

India-Pakistan conflict threshold at historic low after military flare-up — Bhutto-Zardari
India-Pakistan conflict threshold at historic low after military flare-up — Bhutto-Zardari

Arab News

time4 hours ago

  • Arab News

India-Pakistan conflict threshold at historic low after military flare-up — Bhutto-Zardari

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari warned on Monday the threshold for war between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan had significantly dropped following last month's military standoff during an interview with an international news outlet. India and Pakistan engaged in their most intense military exchange only a few weeks ago, prompting fears of a full-scale war under the nuclear overhang. Over four days, both countries traded missile strikes, drone attacks and air combat before US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire on May 10. The crisis erupted after a militant assault killed 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. New Delhi blamed the attack on Pakistan-based elements, a charge Islamabad strongly denied, calling instead for an impartial international investigation. As the situation escalated, the global community moved quickly to ease tensions and avert the risk of a nuclear confrontation. 'At the moment, the threshold for conflict between India and Pakistan is the lowest than it's ever been in our history,' Bhutto-Zardari said in an interview with Sky News in London. 'We've achieved the ceasefire, but we have not achieved peace as it stands today.' 'If there's a terrorist attack anywhere in India or India-occupied Kashmir, proof or no proof, that means war,' he added. 'That's not a tenable situation. Pakistan believes there needs to be dialog and diplomacy, where we discuss all issues — terrorism, Kashmir, water — and start moving forward.' Bhutto-Zardari said Pakistan had long advocated peace through dialogue, as he pointed to India's refusal to engage diplomatically. He also criticized New Delhi's position on the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a World Bank-brokered agreement signed in 1960 governing water rights over rivers shared by the two countries. While India has not stopped water flows entirely, he said, it had delayed releases, a tactic, which he noted, could devastate Pakistan's agricultural output. 'Even a week's delay in water supply can destroy crops in a country like Pakistan, which depends heavily on agriculture,' he said, warning that any move by India to build new canals or dams on rivers allocated to Pakistan would cross a red line. 'That would be war,' he said. Bhutto-Zardari further rejected the idea that Pakistan harbored militant groups involved in cross-border militancy, noting the country had taken significant action under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) framework, a global watchdog that monitors money laundering and terrorism financing. 'When I was foreign minister, Pakistan was on the FATF grey list. By the end of my term, we had successfully moved off that list,' he said, calling the removal an endorsement by the international community of Pakistan's counterterrorism efforts. Responding to Indian claims over the recent Kashmir attack, he reiterated that Pakistan had no role in the incident and challenged New Delhi to present credible evidence if it had any. 'They went to war with a nuclear power and still cannot name a single terrorist involved,' he said. 'If India was being honest, we'd know who they were, where they came from, which border crossing they used. These are basic questions that remain unanswered.' Bhutto-Zardari is currently leading a nine-member Pakistani delegation to various world capitals to present Islamabad's position on the recent conflict with India. The delegation held meetings in recent days with representatives of the United Nations, its member states and US officials before arriving in London a day earlier to continue its mission.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store