Assurances that the Greek Orthodox nature of the historic and ancient St. Catherine’s Monastery of Sinai will be safeguarded were aired on Wednesday after a closely watched meeting in Athens between the Greek and Egyptian foreign ministers.

In his statements during a joint press conference, Egyptian Minister Badr Abdelatty provided verbal assurances to the Greek side, which has essentially emerged as the monastery’s interlocutor with the Egyptian state, all in the wake of an Egyptian appeals court decision last May threatening the very existence of the venerable Christian Orthodox institution.

Nevertheless, the meeting between Abdelatty and Greek FM George Gerapetritis did not include the signing of any bilateral agreement over the Sinai Monastery’s status, with the former merely noting that such an agreement will soon be forthcoming – and between Egyptian authorities and the monastery’s brotherhood of monks, legally represented by the autonomous Greek Orthodox Church of Sinai.

On his part, Gerapetritis said both sides are interested in St. Catherine’s Monastery continuing its uninterrupted course within the status quo in place for the past 15 centuries. He added that he’s convinced that the Egypt state will continue its tradition of respecting all religions.

Beyond the Sinai issue, Gerapetritis said both sides have a common position regarding irregular migration and delimitating exclusive economic zones (EEZs), along with agreement over the need for the political process to continue in Libya and for the Libyan people to decide their future in free elections.

In Athens today, Egypt’s Foreign Minister meets with his Greek counterpart Mr. George Gerapetritis. Mutual commitment to strengthen the strategic partnership between both friendly countries and a fruitful exchange of views on regional issues of mutual interest. pic.twitter.com/uNjrTPaZLt

— Egypt MFA Spokesperson (@MfaEgypt) August 6, 2025