Israel, Cyprus, Greece eye gas cooperation with India on the waiting list. 

Israel is looking for ways to export its natural gas to European markets in cooperation with Cyprus and Greece, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

<span;>We expect decisions on this in the next three-to-six months,” Netanyahu said on Monday after a meeting with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the Cypriot capital Nicosia.

<span;>Israel is keen for its power grid to be connected with Cyprus and Greece as part of the so-called <span;>EuroAsia Interconnector<span;> project, Netanyahu said, adding that there is also the prospect for the planned link between the three countries to be extended east of Israel.

<span;>The Israeli premier said he’d like to include India in the project.

<span;>The EuroAsia Interconnector will link power networks in Israel and Cyprus with Greece, then on to the rest of Europe. The European Union agreed in January 2022 to provide 657 million euros ($710 million) in funding for the section of the 2,000 megawatt cable that will link Cyprus with the Greek island of Crete.

<span;>The underwater cable will have a total length of 1,208 kilometers (750 miles) and offers an opportunity for renewable energy to be exported from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe.

<span;>While Greece doesn’t currently produce natural gas, it’s a natural entry point for the fuel into European markets with significant investments currently underway, Mitsotakis said. The link “is a project of great interest as we seek to expand more into renewable energy and as we need more diversification of energy sources,” the Greek premier said.

<span;>Cyprus, Greece and Israel could employ the current 3+1 format used for joint meetings with the US to set up a similar arrangement to include India, Netanyahu said.

<span;>He also said the three countries were looking into cooperating on firefighting at a time when wildfires are causing increasingly severe damage.