Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend the signing of a deal by Cypriot Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis, Greek Energy Greek Energy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis and Israeli Energy and Water Minister Yuval Steinitz, to build the EastMed subsea pipeline to carry natural gas from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe, at the Zappeion Hall in Athens, Greece, Jan. 2, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Alkis Konstantinidis.

i24 News – Israel, Cyprus, and Greece on Monday signed an initial agreement on laying the world’s longest undersea power cable linking their electricity grids.

The memorandum of understanding on the 745-mile EuroAsia Interconnector was signed in Nicosia by Cyprus Energy Minister Natasa Pilides and her Israeli counterpart Yuval Steinitz, while Greece’s Kostas Skrekas joined them by videoconference.

The three ministers, in a joint statement, said they agreed “to promote cooperation to examine the possibility of planning, as well as the potential development and implementation of the project.”

It was a “major step forward” in integrating renewable energy sources, they said, without giving cost estimates.

Steinitz said it would allow Israel “to receive electricity backing from the power grids of the European continent in times of emergency and … significantly increase reliance on solar power generation.”

The project aims to connect the electricity grids of Israel, Cyprus, and Crete in Greece through a 2,000-megawatt undersea cable.

The first phase is expected to be operational by 2025, linking the three countries to energy grids in Asia and Europe, said Pilides.

The European Commission had acknowledged it as a key “Project of Common Interest,” making it eligible for EU financing.

The power cable would boost “energy security” for Europe and end the isolation of Cyprus as the only non-interconnected EU member state.