Egypt and Greece agreed on Wednesday on the importance of continued consultations and coordination on bilateral relations and regional developments between the two countries, ahead of their participation in a joint Arab, European forum in the Greek capital on Thursday. Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, who is currently in Athens on an official visit, discussed with his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, bilateral ties and regional issues of common interest, according to a statement by Egypt's foreign ministry. The forum, dubbed the Philia Forum, will see the participation of the the foreign ministers of Greece, Cyprus, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, according to a statement by the Greek foreign ministry on Wednesday. “The meeting… will consider the prospects for enhancing cooperation in sectors of common interest, including the efforts to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic and common security challenges in the wider region,” the Greek foreign ministry said. France, Iraq and Jordan have also been invited to participate, the Greek ministry said. During their meeting, Shoukry and Dendias expressed their satisfaction with continued political consultation on various levels between Cairo and Athens in order to coordinate stances amid rapid developments in the East Mediterranean region. The two foreign ministers discussed boosting cooperation in the energy field, with Shoukry voicing Cairo's appreciation for Greece's ratification of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) charter. The charter, signed in September between the energy of six ministers, including Egypt, establishes a vital platform that brings together gas producers, consumers and transit states to boost a sustainable regional market for gas. The signing of the charter came amid tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean region over Ankara's hunt for gas in the region in violation of the territorial waters of Greece and Cyprus, two close allies of Egypt.
