Greece has revealed its intention to partner with Israel in developing artificial intelligence technologies for early wildfire detection, in a key move to influence wildfire management.
Following talks in Nicosia with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that Israel could be brought into the European Union fold in terms of civil protection initiatives to better coordinate firefighting efforts.
Several nations, including Israel and Cyprus, have sent firefighting aircraft and personnel to help combat wildfires in Greece that have devoured extensive swaths of forest over the last two months, including the EU's deadliest such inferno on record, which killed 20 people.
AI based solution
Mitsotakis said Greece could serve as a testing ground for Israeli AI technology in the early identification of wildfires.
On his part, according to Netanyahu, the three leaders discussed "going well beyond" dispatching firefighting aircraft and workers by deploying AI systems for the fire.
"This is really one of those areas where when we say we'll do it better together, there's no question that that's the case," Netanyahu said.
The European Union is also attempting to curb the growing threat of wildfires by employing satellites, artificial intelligence, and unmanned aerial vehicles.
The regional bloc has launched a project called SAFERS, whose primary focus is on the use of satellites and artificial intelligence (AI) to offer information that could help save lives and limit environmental damage.
"The orchestrated utilization of AI-powered solutions can increase resilience to forest fires," said Claudio Rossi, who coordinates the project and is a senior researcher at an Italian research and innovation center called the Links Foundation in the city of Turin.
The initiative, which will run for three and a half years through March 2024, includes weather and danger maps, fire detection techniques, public input, and other tools to assist local authorities in preparing for wildfire situations.
The ultimate goal is to expand on the demonstrations in France, Greece, Italy, and Spain to create a comprehensive wildfire-control system that can be used throughout Europe.
Natural gas discoveries
The three leaders also discussed other matters, such as the recent natural gas in Israeli and Cypriot Mediterranean Sea waters.
Netanyahu said they agreed that Israel and Cyprus will make the decision on how they will sell natural gas to global markets within the next three to six months.
The two nations are discussing the possibility of constructing a pipeline that would transport offshore natural gas from both nations to the eastern Mediterranean island nation, where it would be liquefied and exported by ship.
Another project that the three leaders were enthusiastic about was a 2,000-kilometer (1,250-mile) undersea electrical line that would connect the power networks of Israel, Cyprus, and mainland Greece.
"That's something that we're eagerly interested in pursuing, and we discussed ... [including] the mechanism of how to advance this," said Netanyahu.
Since 2016, energy has been the focal point of a series of continuous meetings between the three presidents to strengthen their nations' ties, which Mitsotakis says reflects their importance on political, economic, and other levels.
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