The State Minister for Foreign Affairs Harris Theocharis spoke this morning at the Mare MED III Conference Athens 2026, where he highlighted the link between Greece and Israel.
The conference serves as an institutionally enhanced platform for cooperation between Greece and Israel, aiming to transform diplomatic relations into substantial investment partnerships with constructive reciprocal benefits for all parties involved.
Theocharis said, among other things, that the conference is taking place at a time of challenges that are testing the world as a whole and our region in particular, and stressed that “we stand here with a firm conviction: that destabilization will not have the last word. Resilience will have it. With an unshakeable belief in substantive partnerships, in relations based on shared values, strategic convergence and mutual respect. And above all, in the bond between Greece and Israel – a bond that deepens with every challenge we face and every opportunity we seize.”
He also stressed that Greece and Israel are now emerging as energy hubs, capable of shaping regional energy security, which increases the responsibilities of the two countries.He referred to Greece-Israel cooperation and said that it has already proven its value, adding that the strength of this relationship is not reflected in declarations, but in results, for which – he said – the evidence is clear and measurable.
He noted in particular that the bipartite trade between Greece and Israel reached 1.3 billion, marking a 41% increase compared to the previous year – the highest level ever recorded between the two countries, while in 2025, Greek exports to Israel exceeded one billion, with Israel becoming Greece’s 16th most important export destination. He added thatIsraeli investment in Greece continues to expand in every strategic sector, from energy and tourism to innovation, maritime security and defense.
As Theocharis said, in the energy sector, in November 2025, the energy ministers of Greece, Israel, Cyprus and the United States met in Athens as part of the 3+1 format, placing our region at the heart of the European effort to decouple from Russian energy through alternative sources in the Eastern Mediterranean.
“The next ministerial meeting, scheduled for Washington in 2026, has already shown that the momentum is strong.
In May 2025, Greece and Israel signed a $600 million agreement for a natural gas project, and at the trilateral summit in Jerusalem in December 2025, the three countries reaffirmed the promotion of the GREGY electricity interconnection and announced plans to link Israeli offshore gas fields with energy facilities in Cyprus, with private financing expected to follow,” he said.
Finally, he referred to our country’s armament programme and said that in the defence sector, bilateral cooperation has entered a new, transformative phase, and Israeli technology and expertise are at the core of this effort. He also stressed that the “Achilles Shield” program, with its multi-layered air defense, anti-missile and anti-drone protection, is based on Israeli systems worth 3.5 billion. Finally, he said in December 2025, the Greek parliament approved the procurement of 36 PULS multiple rocket launcher systems from Elbit through an intergovernmental agreement formally signed in April 2026 for $750 million.
Deepening cooperation in anti-drone and cybersecurity systems
“And in January 2026, the two defense ministers agreed to further deepen cooperation in anti-drone and cybersecurity systems in response to the clear challenges of modern warfare. These are not just purchases. These are strategic commitments that link the security architectures of the two countries for an entire generation,” Theocharis said.
He also noted that in innovation and technology, cooperation goes beyond infrastructure and extends to ideas, talent and knowledge, linking the innovation agencies of the two countries – the Israel Innovation Authority with their Greek counterparts – to create stable mechanisms for cooperation, transfer of know-how and joint investments.
Theocharis also referred to the IMEC corridor, announced in New Delhi in 2023, which is shaping the region and has the potential to redefine the economic geography of the region, connecting India, the Middle East, Israel, Cyprus and continental Europe through true maritime and energy corridors.
“Greece and Israel are not on the sidelines of this process. They are central gateways to it. And the time has come to move from general ideas to concrete projects,” Theocharis said.
