Following an invitation by Greece, Interim President of Egypt, Adly Mansour came to Athens for a one-day visit on Monday. The trip is Mansour’s first to an EU country since his appointment as interim Egyptian president six months ago.
Mansour met with the Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in the Maximos Mansion. The meeting lasted an hour where they discussed issues of concern to both countries.
He then met with his counterpart, Greek President Karolos Papoulias in the Presidential Mansion. Papoulias underlined the historic links between Greece and Egypt, “We have a cordial friendship, which grows without any problem and your presence here confirms this,” he added.
The Egyptian President said that the two countries have common ideas and visions in many spheres and expressed his hope for further development of bilateral relations. “Greece is a glorious historic country, just like Egypt. We share the same vision on many issues and we have special political and economic relations which we hope to develop and promote,” said Mansour, adding that, “the Egyptian people love the Greek people.”
In a press conference, Papoulias outlined that during the meeting they had discussed the Greek EU Presidency priorities, Greek investments in Egypt and issues related to the EU maritime borders, referring indirectly to the pending agreement between the two countries for defining Exclusive Economic Zone (AOZ) limits.
After the statements, Papoulias hosted a lunch in honor of the Egyptian President. This was also attended by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, Minister of Defense Dimitris Avramopoulos, Minister of Development Kostis Chatzidakis and Minister of Tourism Olga Kefalogianni. The Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Nabil Fahmy and Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou, who accompanied the Egyptian President on the visit were also present.
Towards the end of the event, the Egyptian President offered Papoulias a carpet, who in return made a gift of a copy of a gilded bronze wreath with ivy leaves and berries from the Benaki Museum.
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