Israel remains committed to the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI), an Israeli government official told local media on Tuesday, amid apparent discord between Cyprus and Greece over the mammoth project.

An unnamed Israeli diplomat told daily Politis that his country’s position on the GSI remains “unchanged”.

The GSI is a proposed interconnector that would link the electricity grids of Cyprus and Greece, in one segment, and the grids of Cyprus and Israel in the other segment via a subsea cable.

The Israeli source said the GSI “is a top priority for Israel, as it enhances regional energy security, provides access to energy markets and boosts Israel’s incorporation into the European energy grid”.

Israel ties the GSI to its own vision of the mooted India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (Imec).

In May, just back from talks in Tel Aviv, President Nikos Christodoulides confirmed that he and the Israeli leadership discussed the Imec and the GSI. The president was linking the two issues.

“There has been for some time an initiative supported by both the European Commission and by the United States, for the creation of an economic – to begin with – corridor from India, to the Middle East, and from there onto Europe,” Christodoulides said at the time.

The Imec is a planned economic corridor aiming to bolster economic development by fostering connectivity and economic integration between Asia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. It’s a proposed route from India to Europe through the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Greece.

The project was launched to bolster transportation and communication links between Europe and Asia through rail and shipping networks, and is seen as a counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Israel is understood to be keen on promoting the project, delayed due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

In September 2024, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Imec “a blessing” for the Middle East in his address to the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

As for the GSI, Israel is reiterating its support for it at a time when Nicosia and Athens appear to be at odds over the segment linking their two countries. This prompted Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to recently state that for the project to happen, Cyprus “must prove in practice that it wants it”.

Greece’s foreign minister has meantime also weighed in forcefully. Speaking to media, Giorgos Gerapetritis stated that “whoever thinks they can undermine the strategic character of this project, will find us standing against them”.

The chief Greek diplomat went on to describe the GSI as “project of geo-strategic significance that Greece would “be ruthless” in the pursuit of.