NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) 鈥 Israel鈥檚 prime minister on Sunday floated the idea of building infrastructure projects such as a fiber optic cable linking countries in Asia and the Arabian Peninsula with Europe through Israel and Cyprus.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he鈥檚 鈥渜uite confident鈥 such an infrastructure 鈥渃orridor鈥 linking Asia to Europe through Israel and Cyprus is feasible.
He said such projects could happen if Israel normalizes relations with other countries in the region. The 2020 U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and the Biden administration is trying to establish official ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
鈥淎n example and the most obvious one is a fiber optic connection. That鈥檚 the shortest route. It鈥檚 the safest route. It鈥檚 the most economic route,鈥 Netanyahu said after talks with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.
The Israeli leader鈥檚 pitch is itself an extension of proposed energy links with Cyprus and Greece as part of growing collaboration on energy in the wake of discoveries of significant natural gas deposits in the economic zones of both Israel and Cyprus.
Netanyahu repeated that he and Christodoulides are looking to follow through on plans for a 2,000-megawatt known as the EurAsia Interconnector connecting Israel with Cyprus and Greece that aims to act as an energy supply back-up for both Israel and Cyprus.
鈥淵ou want to be connected to other sources of power that can allow a more optimal use of power or give you power when there is a failure in your own country,鈥 Netanyahu said. 鈥淭hat is something that we鈥檙e discussing seriously and we hope to achieve.鈥
Another energy link involves a Cypriot proposal to build a from both Israel and Cyprus to the east Mediterranean island nation where it would be fuel for electricity generators or potentially be liquefied for export by ship.
Christodoulides said given Europe鈥檚 need for energy diversification in light of Russia鈥檚 war in Ukraine, Cyprus and Israel are looking to developing 鈥渁 reliable energy corridor鈥 linking the East Mediterranean basin to Europe through projects including gas pipelines and liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing plants.
Netanyahu said his government fully backs a European decision to create a in Cyprus from which aircraft and other technology could be dispatched to help put .
鈥淭he climate isn鈥檛 going to get cooler. It鈥檚 going to get hotter. And with, you know, with the heating up of our region and the globe, firefighting becomes a really important thing. We can I think we can do it better together,鈥 the Israeli leader said.
Talks between Christodoulides and Netanyahu precede a trilateral meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday.
Since 2016 such meetings between the leaders of the three countries have become a staple of what they said are burgeoning ties that Netanyahu described as 鈥渁 deep friendship, both personal, but also between our nations鈥 that is 鈥渞eal鈥 and 鈥渓ong overdue.鈥
