A tripartite "historical” meeting among the heads of government of Greece,
Cyprus and Jordan in Nicosia on January 16 strengthened relations between the
three countries and paved the way for political and economic cooperation,
including energy.
"The greatest benefit of the Cyprus-Greece-Jordan tripartite meeting in
Nicosia is political,” Cyprus Natural Hydrocarbons Company CEO
Charles
Ellinas told New Europe on January 19. "The meeting reaffirmed the
excellent relations and friendship between the three countries and laid the
foundations for strategic and regional cooperation for political and economic
benefits. They signed three agreements for co-operation: in renewable energy,
protection of cultural heritage and seafaring,” he added.
Greek Prime Minister
Alexis Tsipras, Cypriot President
Nicos
Anastasiades and Jordan’s
King Abdullah II discussed
tripartite relations and regional developments. "With President Anastasiades
and King Abdullah we also agreed to extend our trilateral cooperation in fields
of common interest,” Tsipras said. "In the fields of Renewable Energy Sources,
handling water reserves, the field of agriculture, aquaculture, tourism,
merchant shipping, protection of antiquities and health,” he added.
"We also signed today a Memorandum of Understanding for Renewable Energy
Sources, which sets the bases and directions for our countries’ cooperation in
this field,” the Greek Premier said.
Cyprus Energy Minister
Yiorgos Lakkotrypis told a press
conference after the tripartite meeting that the agreement signed on energy
concerns mainly renewable energy sources and the intention of the three
countries to exchange know-how to promote this area, IBNA reported.
"Of course, we also discussed with our colleagues, both the Greek and the
Jordan, the issues of hydrocarbons and some ideas that we have agreed to
discuss further either in Athens or in Amman,” the news agency quoted
Lakkotrypis as saying.
SolarPower Europe CEO
James Watson noted that Greece,
Cyprus and Jordan’s solar energy sector has big potential. "We see a steady
increase in public-private partnerships on renewable energy across Europe and
the world. If the trilateral agreement between Greece, Jordan and Cyprus can
boost solar installations in these sunbathed countries, it can be a positive
development for the clean energy transition,” Watson told New Europe.
Meanwhile, MEDREG Secretary General
Fabio Tambone said
MEDREG hailed the strengthening of energy ties among Cyprus, Greece and Jordan.
"We believe that the Memorandum of Understanding on renewable energy sources
signed by the three countries will help to reinforce the role regulators play
in order to ensure that new investments in RES-generated capacity are
remunerated in a way that is economically sustainable,” Tambone told New
Europe, commenting on this MoU and Declaration. "Regulators are also key to
govern the fair integration of RES-generated electricity in the grid,
accompanying the substantial technological changes that take place in the RES
sector. The regulators of the three countries involved (CERA, RAE and EMRC) are
among the most active members of our Association, so we look forward to better
understanding the regulatory implications of this reinforced cooperation,” the
MEDREG Secretary General said.
Ellinas noted that the main benefit of this and the other tripartite
meetings with Egypt, Israel and Lebanon is the promotion of security, peace and
prosperity in the East Med region. "This is good for the countries but also for
Europe, with Cyprus and Greece acting as a bridge between these countries and
Europe,” he said.
"Good relations also aid the development of hydrocarbons from the political
viewpoint, by facilitating any required inter-governmental agreements, but not
the commercial,” Ellinas said, adding that Cyprus and Israel are stuck in terms
of exports because of the low global gas prices. Egypt is forging ahead, and
spearheaded by the development of the giant ENI-operated Zohr offshore field it
relies completely on its own resources, he concluded.
by Kostis Geropoulos Energy & Russian Affairs Editor, New Europe
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/greece-cyprus-jordan-heads-state-agree-renewable-energy-package/