FM Sa’ar to restart trilateral forum with Greece, Cyprus

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar will visit Athens on Thursday to meet with his Greek and Cypriot counterparts and restore a tripartite forum between the Mediterranean countries, the Foreign Ministry says.

During the visit — the first trilateral summit since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 — Sa’ar aims to “renew the operations of the trilateral forum with our friends Greece and Cyprus” and “engage in discussions with my counterparts on regional issues of shared interest among the three countries,” according to his office.

The framework, established in 2016 and suspended throughout the war, seeks to revive cooperation on energy, economy and defense in the region.

During the trio’s first summit, discussions centered on energy cooperation regarding newly found offshore gas reserves in Israel as well as migration, counter-terrorism, and tourism. The countries signed a cooperation agreement on water resource management, and later agreed on a joint emergency rescue force for instances of natural disasters.