Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is scheduled to travel to Egypt next week as part of contacts expected to maintain coordination between Athens and Cairo. Mitsotakis is expected to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in El Alamein on Tuesday.
Nicos Christodoulides, the leader of the Greek Cypriot administration, may also join the visit. The meeting is expected to convey a message of close cooperation between the two countries.
The Mecca agreement and Egypt's position
The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, signed by Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan on August 7, is expected to be one of the main issues on the agenda. The agreement includes a collective-defense provision under which an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all members.
Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan raised the possibility that Egypt could join the arrangement, while Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described Cairo as a “natural partner” regarding the agreement.
Egypt is also part of a four-member consultation framework known as R4, together with the agreement's three founding countries. Egypt's inclusion in the agreement would expand the arrangement's strategic reach. The Suez Canal's connection between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, along with Egypt's possession of one of the region's largest armies, are seen as factors supporting this assessment.
Athens' expectations
Greek officials view Egypt's joining the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement in the short term as unlikely. This approach is linked to Egypt's inclination to preserve its freedom of action and its important partnerships with the United States and Europe.
The expected meeting between Mitsotakis and el-Sisi is also expected to address Türkiye-Egypt relations, Libya, migration, energy, investment and maritime jurisdiction disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean.
