The Energy Ministers of Cyprus and Greece, Michael Damianos and Stavros Papastavrou, Israel’s Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, and U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright announced their intention to hold a series of regular working-level meetings in the coming months aimed at developing a 3+1 Energy Dialogue Cooperation Roadmap, as part of the four countries’ ongoing cooperation under the 3+1 Energy Dialogue framework.
A Joint Statement issued following the Eastern Mediterranean 3+1 Energy Ministerial Dialogue, held Thursday in Houston, Texas, said that the purpose of the Roadmap is to identify objectives and actions in areas of mutual interest discussed during the meeting, including, where appropriate, leveraging the Eastern Mediterranean Energy Center.
As one of the first actions, the countries agreed to establish a working group on cybersecurity and the physical protection of critical infrastructure, the statement added.
According to the Joint Statement, the competent ministries of the four countries aim to approve the Roadmap within the current calendar year and agreed to hold the next ministerial meeting in Israel in due course.
Cyprus Energy Minister Michalis Damianos, Greek Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou, Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter and U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright discussed areas of mutual interest and ongoing cooperation, including energy security, offshore natural gas resource development, energy innovation, research and development, as well as regional infrastructure and connectivity.
The participants also underscored the importance of regional connectivity initiatives and projects among Greece, Cyprus and Israel that could create opportunities for U.S. companies, as well as the importance of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) in strengthening economic resilience and secure supply chains.
The participants also welcomed the launch of the Eastern Mediterranean Energy Center at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.