Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has held talks with Greek Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Dendias on bilateral ties between the countries and ways of enhancing them.

They further underscored on Sunday the importance of strategic partnership in the Southern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Last week, Dendias met with his counterparts from Cyprus, and Israel in addition to United Arab Emirates official Anwar Gargash.

Spokesperson for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry Ahmed Hafez said Sunday that the two ministers discussed a number of regional and international issues of common interest.

Hafez added that the meeting dealt with the situation in the eastern Mediterranean region.

The two ministers expressed their appreciation for the established partnership between the two countries, and the importance of continuing to strengthen relations together in all economic, political, social, and cultural fields.

They also praised the continued exchange of support between the two countries in international forums, and the importance of Egypt as a strategic partner for Greece and the European Union in the southern Mediterranean and the Middle East region.

They reviewed regional developments and Egypt’s vision on how to resolve them and efforts aimed to bring about an appropriate climate for security and stability, such as reaching a comprehensive settlement in the Libyan crisis.

Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus have joined a tripartite cooperation mechanism, which is backed by the presidents of three countries.

With other countries, they also established the East Mediterranean Gas Forum which kicked off in September as a “regional organization” headquartered in Cairo.