Greek Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias visited Cairo on 22 September 2026 for high-level talks aimed at strengthening defence cooperation between Greece, Egypt and Cyprus. At the beginning of his visit, Dendias was received by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at Al-Ittihadiya Palace. The Greek minister conveyed the greetings of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and highlighted the broad and longstanding historical relationship between Greece and Egypt. He also reaffirmed Athens\u2019 commitment to close coordination with Cairo in addressing common challenges. The meeting was attended by Egypt\u2019s Minister of Defence and Military Production and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, General Ashraf Salem Zaher, as well as Major General Mohamed Adly Abdel Wahid Soliman, head of the Egyptian Armed Forces Armament Authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dendias subsequently took part in a trilateral meeting with General Zaher and Cypriot Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas. The talks focused on expanding cooperation among the armed forces of the three countries, including joint military exercises, training activities and measures to improve operational interoperability. The ministers also examined opportunities for collaboration in emerging technologies and defence innovation, while exchanging assessments of the security challenges affecting the Eastern Mediterranean and the wider region. The meeting concluded with the signing of a joint declaration outlining the three countries\u2019 shared objectives and confirming their intention to deepen practical defence cooperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the meeting, Dendias described the talks as another important step in strengthening relations among Greece, Egypt and Cyprus. He noted that the defence ministers\u2019 meeting followed the recent trilateral summit held in El Alamein and reflected the steady development of cooperation at both political and military levels. The Greek minister characterised Egypt as a strategic and indispensable partner for Greece and Cyprus, while emphasising that their cooperation is not directed against any third country. According to Dendias, the relationship is founded on mutual sincerity, respect for international law and adherence to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. He also referred to the maritime delimitation agreement between Greece and Egypt, which he signed during his previous tenure as foreign minister alongside his former Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The trilateral discussions were followed by separate bilateral meetings between Dendias and his Egyptian and Cypriot counterparts. During his talks with General Zaher, the two ministers discussed ways to further develop the strategic defence relationship between Greece and Egypt, as well as the evolving security situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and neighbouring regions. In his meeting with Palmas, Dendias reviewed prospects for deepening bilateral defence cooperation between Greece and Cyprus. The visit underlined the growing importance of the Greece-Egypt-Cyprus partnership as a framework for regional consultation, military coordination and stability. Dendias was accompanied in Cairo by Greece\u2019s ambassador to Egypt, Nikolaos Papageorgiou, and Major General Ioannis Korres, director of the Fourth Branch of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Greek Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias visited Cairo on 22 September 2026 for high-level talks aimed at strengthening defence cooperation between Greece, Egypt and Cyprus. At the beginning of his visit, Dendias was received by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at Al-Ittihadiya Palace. The Greek minister conveyed the greetings of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18037,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"Photo credits: Directorate of Information, Hellenic Ministry of National Defence \/ Evangelos Karaiskos","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-african-security","category-greek-defence-news"],"yoast_head":"\n