By: Bakinam Khaled – Samah Saeed

Telecom Egypt, the first integrated telecom operator in Egypt and one of the largest submarine cable operators in the region, and GRID Telecom, a subsidiary of the Greek Independent Electricity Transmission Operator (IPTO), have announced the signing of a joint cooperation agreement to link Egypt and Greece by building a new submarine cable belonging to one of the Submarine cable systems extending across the Mediterranean Sea, this came during a visit of a delegation from the Greek IPTO to Telecom Egypt headquarters in the Smart Village in Cairo. The agreement was signed by Eng. Adel Hamed, Managing Director and CEO of Telecom Egypt, Manos Manousakis, Chairman and CEO of IPTO and Georgios Pesiris , Director of Grid Telecom.

This agreement comes within the framework of Telecom Egypt's vision and expansion strategy to enhance its international infrastructure, expand its networks and multiply access points within the Mediterranean, by opening an eastern gateway to Europe through Greece, as the new cable is the shortest way to cross the Mediterranean region to the Balkans and other destinations. Such as Genoa and Marseille via land and sea routes, which contributes to strengthening Egypt's strategic position as a global center for communications services and data traffic between East and West.

This cooperation comes in the wake of the two companies’ signing of a strategic memorandum of understanding in Athens on February 9, paving the way for exploring different connectivity options between Greece and Egypt based on the distinguished infrastructure and international connectivity capabilities of the two companies with neighboring countries now and in the future using the latest optical fiber technologies.

For his part, Eng. Adel Hamed, Managing Director and CEO of Telecom Egypt, said that Telecom Egypt is constantly working to develop its international network by investing in new submarine cable systems to keep pace with the increasing demand for telecommunications services regionally and around the world.

He added, "The new cooperation with Grid Telecom will give our international infrastructure more flexibility and spread and add a new access point for Europe across the Mediterranean region, which is of strategic importance in international telecommunication services."

On his part, Manos Manosakis, Chairman and CEO of IPTO, explained: The Southeast Mediterranean region is witnessing many aspects of continuous cooperation towards consolidating the position of this region as a vital hub for the movement of data and energy.

“We are delighted with this cooperation between IPTO’s Grid Telecom and Telecom Egypt, the first integrated telecom operator in Egypt and one of the largest submarine cable operators in the region, as the new submarine connection enhances Crete’s strategic role as an open, neutral access point connecting the three continents.”