Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had a meeting with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu while visiting Israel on Sunday. The two leaders reaffirmed the strategic relations between Greece and Israel and discussed ways to further deepen bilateral cooperation, especially in defence.
Mitsotakis and Netanyahu exchanged views on regional developments, particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean, and on the challenges in Syria, Lebanon and the Red Sea.
The Greek premier underlined the importance of connectivity and joint-interest energy projects for the stability of the region. He also highlighted the importance of stability and preserving the truce in south Lebanon, while calling for the release of all hostages and an end to Israeli operations in Gaza.
Before the start of their meeting, the two prime ministers made the following statements:

Netanyahu: "Welcome Prime Minister Mitsotakis, my good friend Kyriakos....we are two ancient peoples, our free civilisations started in Athens and Jerusalem, we have common values and we share a common interest today and also common challenges. I think that we face many opportunities, I look forward to discussing them with you. You're changing Greece's economy, we went through a similar process, our ties are constantly increasing, I know of many Israelis who are going to Greece, investing in Greece, which is a vote of confidence. And I look forward to having this opportunity to discuss the security challenges, the economic opportunities, and the ways that we can increase the chances for a lasting peace in our region, something that I know you also want. So from one democracy in the Eastern Mediterranean to another democracy in the Eastern Mediterranean, welcome friend."

Mitsotakis: "Thank you, Prime Minister, it is always a pleasure to be here and to discuss with you. This is a strategic partnership that has significant depth, as you pointed out, and [there are] many common challenges that we need to address in order to return our common region to a state of peace. I do want to focus also on our economic cooperation but also on our defence cooperation, which is particularly important to us in Greece. So, I am really looking forward to the discussion that we will have, we always have very frank and open interactions. Thank you so much for receiving me in Jerusalem today.