Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, witnessed the signing of an agreement between Telecom Egypt (TE) and Grid Telecom, one of the companies owned by the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) in Greece, to establish a submarine cable linking Egypt and Greece across the Mediterranean.
The agreement was signed by Adel Hamed, Managing Director and CEO of Telecom Egypt, and Manos Manousakis, Chairman and CEO of IPTO.
The Minister of Communications said that the agreement aims to establish a new submarine cable linking Egypt and Greece across the Mediterranean, which enhances Egypt’s strategic capacity in the field of international submarine cables.
He added, in a press release issued today by the ministry, that a new disembarkation point will be opened in Eastern Europe on the Greek coasts. This represents a strategic advantage, especially since more than 90% of data traffic between East and West passes through Egyptian territorial waters and lands.
He pointed out that the signing of the agreement is the result of hard work over 10 months since the start of the negotiations that took place during his visit to Greece last February, during which he witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between TE and Grid Telecom with the aim of linking the two countries using submarine cable systems.
This agreement comes within the framework of TE’s vision and expansion strategy to enhance its infrastructure, expand its international network and multiply access points to Europe, by opening an eastern gateway to Europe through Greece, through the establishment of a submarine cable system between Egypt and Greece. This cable will link the city of Port Said to the Greek island of Crete. The new cable is one of the shortest paths for data transmission to the Balkans in Eastern Europe and from there to other destinations in Western Europe, which contributes to strengthening Egypt’s strategic position as a global center for communications services and data traffic between East and West.
For his part, Adel Hamed, Managing Director and CEO of Telecom Egypt, said that the company is working to expand and develop its international infrastructure.
He added that, in cooperation with Grid Telecom, Telecom Egypt’s contact points will reach more than 140 in more than 60 countries around the world.
Manos Manousakis, Chairman and CEO of IPTO, said that the group is adopting an initiative aimed at transforming Greece into a major energy and data hub, with high geographical and political value and a privileged location at the crossroads of the three continents, Europe, Africa and Asia.
He added that Egypt is an important hub for international communications and a meeting place for all international submarine cables from West to East, and therefore there will be great cooperation and great opportunities that will bring benefits to all.
It is worth noting that Telecom Egypt had signed earlier this year a strategic MoU with Grid Telecom, which paved the way for discussing various ways to enhance the link between Egypt and Greece by connecting current and future fiber optic cables. This was followed by the signing of a joint cooperation agreement to invest in the construction of this submarine cable, to obtain large international capacities between Egypt and Greece, and to expand connections to neighboring countries.
