Al Monitor: Is Turkey the Odd Man Out as Egypt, Greece and Cyprus Cozy Up?

Egypt and Cyprus appear to be taking quick action on decisions they made with Greece during their December summit that addressed issues including the economy, energy and politics.

On Jan. 4, Cypriot Minister of Agriculture Nicos Kouyialis visited Egypt and met with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and a number of Egyptian officials, including the ministers of agriculture and environment.

Kouyialis said his visit was to discuss joint cooperation projects to be implemented between Egypt and Cyprus in aquaculture and among Egypt, Greece and Cyprus with regard to land reclamation and the development of new agricultural methods. The Cypriot ambassador in Egypt, Haris Moritsis, also met with Egyptian Minister of Transportation Saad al-Geyoushi on Jan. 14 to discuss cooperation between Egypt and Cyprus in maritime transport.

Egyptian Ambassador Hossam Zaki, who is assistant foreign minister for European affairs, said in a Jan. 17 statement to Egypt’s Al-Youm Al-Sabea newspaper that he is preparing for another meeting this month with officials of the tripartite summit projects. MORE