Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Terens Quick discussed ways to boost relations between the two countries in the coming period, especially in the energy field. Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez said Shoukry and Quick discussed Cairo’s chairing of the upcoming 2019 African Union-European Union ministerial meeting scheduled for Brussels on January 21 and 22. According to Hafez, the meeting between Shoukry and Quick also tackled preparations of the third phase of the “Nostos – The Return” program implemented in the framework of the trilateral cooperation among Cyprus, Greece and Egypt on diaspora issues, which will be held in Australia at the end of March. Hafez said Quick was keen to listen to Egypt’s view of the challenges and crises facing the Middle East. For his part, the Greek official underlined the depth of the relations with Egypt, pointing out the need to work jointly to push cooperation between the two countries in various fields. The Nostos initiative comes as a part of the diaspora program signed between Egypt, Cyprus and Greece, which aims to gather Cypriots and Greeks or their descendants in Alexandria for a return trip to the place where they or their ancestors once lived. Signing this program is considered by many to be a historic moment for the three countries, since it was the first time that cooperation on diaspora was achieved and also the first time that the three countries decided on a common strategy and joint actions. In October, the leaders of Egypt, Greece and Cyprus held a summit that stressed the promotion of mutual cooperation between their countries, namely the fields of energy, exploration and transport of natural gas in the Mediterranean.