Egypt inks strategic partnership with Cyprus amid energy cooperation push

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and his Cypriot counterpart President, Nikos Christodoulides, have upgraded bilateral ties to a strategic partnership. The partnership will formalize cooperation between the two countries across energy, defense, and migration.

But why now? The answer may lie in the Aphrodite and Cronos gas fields. Egypt has increasingly been keen on assigning strategic partner status to countries without openly hostile relations, but recent momentum to get the plan to re-export Cypriot natural gas as LNG from Egyptian terminals back on track may be the reason behind the recent handshake and signature.