Mitsotakis completes high-profile visit, talks with Egyptian leadership

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis continued his government’s “pivot” to the east Mediterranean and Middle East with an official visit to Egypt on Monday, part of Athens’ efforts to rejuvenate relations at levels with the wider region to its east, and after a decade of introversion due to the economic crisis.

Mitsotakis held talks and a joint press conference with Egyptian leader Abdel el-Sisi, hours after Greek FM Nikos Dendias announced that the Greek prime minister will travel to the Iraqi capital of Baghdad in the coming period.

Greece and Egypt have signed a bilateral agreement to delimitate exclusive economic zones in the east Mediterranean based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Both sides also reiterated that all foreign fighters and mercenaries must leave war-torn Libya.

Beyond the talks on bilateral and multilateral issues, Mitsotakis on Monday afternoon also met with representatives of the historic ethnic Greek community of Cairo.

Mitsotakis express his praise for the community’s multi-dimensional works in the greater Cairo area, such as the teaching of the Greek language and the promotion of Hellenic civilization and traditions in the ancient land.

He also discussed matters affecting the community and how they can be resolved.

Mitsotakis, finally, was received by the Greek Orthodox Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, Theodoros II.