President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received Greece’s Minister of National Defense, Nikolaos Dendias. The meeting was also attended by Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Minister of Defense and Military Production, General Mohamed Zaki, and the Ambassador of Greece to Egypt.

Spokesman for the Presidency, Counselor Ahmed Fahmy, said the Greek Minister of National Defense conveyed the greetings and congratulations of Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to President El-Sisi, noting that the results of the presidential elections demonstrated the Egyptian people’s confidence in his leadership. Mr. Dendias lauded Egypt’s positive role and leverage in its regional milieu, in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean, and valued the ongoing cooperation between Egypt and Greece, at both the bilateral level and within the framework of the Trilateral Cooperation Mechanism with Cyprus.

President El-Sisi confirmed that Egypt appreciates the special and historical relations it shares with Greece, emphasizing its commitment to further advancing the dynamic progress in their ties, in a manner that serves the interests of the two peoples and strengthens areas of joint cooperation across all levels.

The meeting tackled ways to forge closer bilateral relations, notably in the fields of defense and military cooperation. It also focused on the situation in the region, primarily developments in the Palestinian territories. President El-Sisi reviewed Egypt’s efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and ensure the unfettered access of humanitarian relief and aid into the Strip. The President underscored the vital importance of protecting the people in Gaza from the catastrophic humanitarian situation they have been enduring. President El-Sisi reiterated that Egypt’s government and people will continue to provide relief assistance to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and to coordinate and deliver aid provided by the international community. The President reaffirmed the imperative need to exert intensive international efforts to enforce the implementation of UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions. President El-Sisi and the Greek Minister of National Defense concurred about the gravity of the situation, the need for de-escalation, and necessity to work toward finding political solutions for the current crisis, in order to preserve regional security and stability in the face of the growing threats.