New Delhi, Aug 17 (IANS) The US is pushing for the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI), a planned undersea electricity link connecting Greece, Cyprus and Israel, to be taken up as a top priority in Greece’s Eastern Mediterranean strategy, according to a report in Greek City Times.
The recent agreement in Athens allowing French investment group Meridiam to become the majority shareholder in the company behind the Great Sea Interconnector, have raised greater expectations that the project will be implemented in its next phase, the report, by Bill Giannopoulos, states.
For Washington, the interconnector is increasingly being viewed as part of a much larger architecture combining energy security, regional connectivity and the strategic ambitions of IMEC (India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor), the report further states.
IMEC was first presented by India at the G20 summit in New Delhi in 2023, and is now widely seen as the democratic world’s answer to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has written to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ben Black, head of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), calling for greater American attention to the Great Sea Interconnector.
The US lawmakers are of the view that the Eastern Mediterranean could become an important gateway to IMEC and describe the Great Sea Interconnector as strategically important infrastructure for the development of the corridor.
They say projects such as the GSI could strengthen US partners, diversify energy routes and deepen regional cooperation while providing alternatives to infrastructure controlled or influenced by strategic rivals, according to the report.
The representatives also requested a classified briefing from the Trump administration on the geopolitical challenges that could affect completion of the project.
The US lawmakers see the project as more than an electricity connection. They frame it as part of a wider strategic network that could strengthen regional resilience and support closer economic ties between Europe, the Middle East and India.
The proposed interconnector is designed to link the electricity networks of Greece, Cyprus and Israel, creating two-way electricity flows between Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. For Cyprus, the project is particularly significant because it could help end the island’s long-standing energy isolation.
For Israel, the interconnection could provide an additional layer of energy security, while Greece would strengthen its role as an energy bridge between Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean.
–IANS
sps/na
