CAIRO: Greek ambassador to Egypt Yannis-Alexis Zepos assumed his post in Cairo last year after a three-year stint as the permanent representative of Greece to NATO.
In an interview with Daily News Egypt, Zepos talked about how he is seeking to increase economic cooperation between the two countries as well as Egyptian immigration to Greece and the framework of the European-Mediterranean Union which both countries are members of.
Daily News Egypt: What is the current level of bilateral relations between Greece and Egypt and in what areas would you like to see it improve?
Yannis-Alexis Zepos: Obviously Greek-Egyptian relations are very special, not only because they come from a very far past, but they always been extremely close and warm. We’ve always had very good political relations and a very good understanding between us about world and regional issues.
In recent years – what is interesting for Greece – we want to have a far more important economic presence in Egypt. In the last 10 years we have seen the degree of economic presence in Egypt multiply. We needed to do this and it is very positive for both countries. And this trend is continuing; there are constant contacts and more and more companies are looking at the Egyptian market and planning to come.
And then of course come cultural [relations], which again has had no problems whatsoever. I cannot but mention the enormous importance of the Greeks living in Egypt, this is a very strong and old link to which we have a newer link, which is the Egyptians living in Greece. These links together create this special atmosphere that we have in our relations.
Greek investments in Egypt totaled $920 million in 2007, are you looking for similar levels of investment in Greece by Egypt?
We would very much like to see that. Last December President Mubarak went to Greece with his economic team and there were good contacts made after which we sent a big economic delegation here in March. And we are expecting the visit of [Trade] Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid to Greece.
We are discussing dates so that eventually he could bring along with him some Egyptian businessmen who would eventually see what interest there would be for them for investing in Greece.
There’s a big emphasis of Greek investment in Egypt on energy. Why the focus on this particular sector?
I think that this is in the benefit of both countries. You would like people prospecting for oil in your country and that’s what we undertake. And obviously it’s important to find ways of providing [for] our markets and this where it all heads to.
Of particular concern to Greece is the increase in illegal immigration from Egypt. There are efforts underway to drum up a repatriation treaty. Do the numbers warrant such concern and are you finding the Egyptian government cooperative on this issue?
This is a serious issue for the whole of the European Union and especially for the countries of the south that are on the Mediterranean. And obviously Greece has a lot of coastline and therefore illegal immigration comes in not just from Egypt but from many other places as well.
What we are trying to do with Egypt is to find a way to encourage a more organized arrival and therefore to avoid the dangers of illegal immigration.
I’m hoping that we can find ways to curb it and at the same time to find the necessary number of people that could come and work. So this is an ongoing negotiation between services of Greece and Egypt. And in this same vein, there is a group going from your Ministry of Interior to Greece in October to discuss this issue amongst other things.
So Greece will allow legal immigration to an extent?
This is what we’re trying to do. To see how we can find what is needed, what can be coped with and have jobs for these people. So that people don’t just take boats with so many risks and then if they arrive, it’s not sure that there’s a job waiting. So we would prefer to organize this in a way that it would make a much safer situation for these illegal immigrants and avoid all sorts of accidents.
Concerning the recent meeting of the Euro-Med conference in France, the type of cooperation was limited to non-controversial issues, without involving politics. Is that a good or a bad thing?
Inevitably a political dimension will be present. Now to what extent it will be dealt with, or [if] it can be overlooked to get some other results, that is a matter of interpretation, it’s a matter of seeing things on the table. But politics will always be around a big forum such as the Mediterranean Union.
Do you feel that Greece and Egypt, with all the bilateral treaties they share, along with neighboring countries, could form their own sort of alliance or union?
The idea of looking closer to the Mediterranean region was a very good idea by the French president and we backed it in very much the same way we backed the Egyptian co-presidency of the union.
But for example we are already working on one issue that is interesting and leads in the direction which you mention which is maritime corridors, or corridors of the sea. That would create shipping lines that would bring all the countries of the area closer.
Due to the history of the Greek community here, Greek culture is still evident in Egypt today, does that help your mission?
Yes. There is a very positive feeling about Greece in Egypt and therefore obviously it touches upon all of us. When we say that we’re Greek, there’s always a smile and a good word that comes along with it, so it helps. That’s also how we feel about Egyptians in Greece. Between the people the feeling is good.
Away from investment and culture, what sort of input does the Greek embassy have in social affairs or community projects here in Egypt?
The Greek government provides funds to NGOs that [work on projects] in Egypt. So there are different things going on right now in different fields.
NGOs proceed on projects here after receiving authorization from Egypt.
We [at the embassy] oversee the work of the NGOs to ensure that they are acheiving thir goals and being of use to Egypt.
If there’s one thing that you would like to see happen or are working on making it happen within Greek-Egyptian cooperation, what would it be?
A lot has happened over the years. So the only thing that would really be worthwhile truly is to see a bigger Greek economic involvement, which is coming. All the other domains are moving on very positively. You can always do better but you cannot say there is something lacking.
Our political relations are very good; there is a very good dialogue between our ministers and heads of state, so it’s all going in a good direction. People to people contacts are very good, so this [whole] setup is very positive. So if we see more economic action in both countries it will be good.
The volume of trade between Greece and Egypt was ?412.6 million in 2007.
