ΑΤΗΕΝS — An agreement on the electricity interconnection between Greece and Egypt will be signed on Thursday in Athens by Environment and Energy Minister Costas Skrekas and Egyptian Minister of Electricity and RES, Mohamed Shaker.

This is the first interconnection between Europe and Africa in the Southeastern Mediterranean region, which will improve the region's security of supply, increase cross-border energy exchanges but also allow the further development of renewable energy sources.

The basis for the signing of the agreement was laid during the visit of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Cairo in June, during which Skrekas met with Shaker, Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad and Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Tarek El Molla and discussed plans for electricity interconnection of the two countries through a submarine cable. The agreement in principle provides for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two ministries which could develop into an Intergovernmental Agreement.

It is also planned to consider the prospect of integrating the project into the European Union Projects of Common Interest (PCI), in the context of the interconnection of the Trans-European Energy Networks, which will facilitate both the licensing and financing of the project.