Greek Environment & Energy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis met with his Israeli counterpart, Yuval Steinitz, on Wednesday evening in Cairo, with the proposed East Med gas pipeline dominating talks, along with a pending international agreement between Cyprus, Greece, Israel and Italy, which awaits signing.
The ambitious – due to cost estimates and engineering challenges – East Med pipeline is projected to carry east Mediterranean natural gas deposits to Europe via Crete and mainland Greece.
In addition, both sides discussed business models for reforming and rescuing state-run power utilities, an issue of heightened importance in Greece due to the massive losses racked up by the dominant Public Power Corp. (PPC), as well as liberalization in the energy sector.
In a related development, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias on Thursday announced that he will travel to Israel on Sunday for talks with this Israeli counterpart and other Israeli leaders.
