The Geopolitics of the Eastern Mediterranean: A View from Egypt

When: Wednesday, November 26, 2025 | 14:30 – 15:30 (activity hour)
Where: Arts Center Auditorium

Organized by
The Institute of Global Affairs of The American College of Greece

IGA GUEST TALK SERIES 2025-2026

By Tamer Mohamed Samy Abdellatif, Brigadier General (Ret.), Dr.

Former Brigadier General in the Egyptian armed forces.
PhD. in Political Sciences from Alexandria University.
Lecturer of national & global security, conflict resolution & management in the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport. And Suez National University.

About the lecture

The Eastern Mediterranean has shifted from a peripheral sea to a central arena of global competition. This lecture examines how energy discoveries, maritime boundary disputes, strategic chokepoints, and new technological corridors have turned the region into a critical link between Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Drawing on Egypt’s perspective as both a regional power and an energy hub, the talk highlights Cairo’s strategy of stability through cooperation, its leadership in the East Mediterranean Gas Forum, and its growing role as an exporter of electricity and digital connectivity to Europe.

Special attention is given to the Egypt–Greece strategic partnership, from joint naval and air exercises to landmark infrastructure such as the EuroAfrica Interconnector and GREGY power cable. These projects exemplify “infrastructure diplomacy,” complementing hard security with energy and digital integration. The lecture also addresses regional rivalries, including Turkey’s maritime revisionism, competing energy routes, and proxy conflicts, alongside the challenge of sustaining cooperation amid shifting great-power and European energy dynamics.

It argues that while risks of confrontation persist, frameworks like the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) and partnerships such as that of Egypt and Greece offer a path to transform the Eastern Mediterranean from a contested frontier into a connected and strategically integrated space.

The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, please contact [email protected]