Israel and Cyprus agreed on Sunday to finalize a deal later this year to construct an electricity cable connecting the two countries, as part of the broader India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) project.
The decision was made during a diplomatic meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, who were joined by Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen and Cypriot Energy, Commerce and Industry Minister Giorgos Papanastasiou.
The undersea cable, which will initially connect Israel and Cyprus and eventually link Cyprus to the broader European grid, is seen as a strategic step toward enhancing regional energy security. Israel, often described as an “energy island,” views the project as a vital infrastructure corridor bridging East and West—from India to Europe.
“One of the ideas that we talked about is IMEC, which is a very revolutionary and transformative development that we want to bring into place,” said Netanyahu on Sunday.
“I discussed it with Mr. Modi, [Prime Minister] Narendra Modi of India, just a few days ago. We want to have a common discussion with him. We also want to have a trilateral meeting in Israel between Israel, Cyprus and Greece. We’ve done that over the years. We want to renew it as soon as possible,” he added.
The Biden administration announced what it called a “landmark” economic corridor between India, the Middle East and Europe at the G20 summit in New Delhi on Sept. 9, 2023.
The corridor will “stimulate economic development through enhanced connectivity and economic integration across two continents, thus unlocking sustainable and inclusive economic growth,” Washington stated. “We aim to usher in a new era of connectivity with a railway, linked through ports connecting Europe, the Middle East and Asia.”
At the time, Netanyahu called the announcement a “unique and unprecedented era of global and regional cooperation.”
“The State of Israel will be a central junction in this economic corridor. Our railways and ports will open a new gateway from India through the Middle East to Europe and back—from Europe to India via Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,” he added.
The initiative, set to cost around $20 billion according to Saudi estimates, would boost trade, transport, energy resources and digital connectivity. It would include the construction of railways, a hydrogen pipeline, fiber-optic communications and electricity cables.
On Sunday, the Israeli and Cypriot sides also discussed the division of the Aphrodite-Yishai natural gas field, a long-standing issue between the countries. Negotiations are reportedly in an advanced stage, with a final agreement expected within the next two months.