Greek and Israeli Ministers Talk Eastern Mediterranean Energy Ties

Greek Environment and Energy Minister Stavos Papastavrou held a telephone conversation with Israeli Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen. The two officials discussed recent developments in the Middle East, the need for energy security in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the importance of creating alternative energy routes following the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.

The ministers emphasized the geopolitical significance of the Eastern Mediterranean and the cooperation framework involving Greece, Israel, Cyprus and the United States known as the “3+1” initiative. They reviewed the status of the Greece‑Cyprus‑Israel electricity interconnector (GSI), the establishment of the Eastern Mediterranean Energy Center (EMEC) agreed in June at Rice University, and Israel’s assumption of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) presidency on 1 August, succeeding Greece.