S. 4443 — Eastern Mediterranean Gateway Act

This section states findings on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), launched at the 2023 G20 Summit, as a strategic alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative that depends on Eastern Mediterranean energy projects including the Great Sea Interconnector, Gregy Interconnection Project, Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector, and regional LNG terminals. It notes the region’s importance to U.S. allies through the 3+1 framework with Greece, Israel, and Cyprus, U.S. defense cooperation with Cyprus under Presidential Determination 2025–03, and the policy of expanding the Abraham Accords.

This section expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should maintain leadership in the Greece-Cyprus-Israel-US “3+1” format, East Mediterranean Gas Forum, and Abraham Accords; continue active participation in the Forum; support energy, transportation, defense, and connectivity initiatives across the Eastern Mediterranean as a link among three continents; recognize the region’s role in the IMEC corridor; resume “3+1” meetings at the Secretary of State level; and apply the policy in section 203 of the Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act of 2019 to promote India-Middle East-Europe connectivity on energy, maritime security, cybersecurity, and critical infrastructure.

This section authorizes the Secretary of State to institutionalize multilateral strategic dialogues between the United States and IMEC countries, including dedicated formats with Eastern Mediterranean countries that already maintain bilateral strategic dialogues with the United States. It requires the Secretary to prioritize the Eastern Mediterranean region in U.S. foreign policy, with emphasis on energy security and defense cooperation.

This section requires the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to submit annual reports to the appropriate congressional committees on the implementation and effects of the Act, including updates on energy projects and defense cooperation. It also directs the Secretary of State to provide a briefing on multilateral initiatives with IMEC countries, analyze the Cyprus Centre for Land, Open Seas, and Port Security as a potential model for multilateral cooperation, and study the feasibility and costs of creating or expanding bilateral programs modeled on existing U.S.-Israel initiatives to include Eastern Mediterranean and IMEC countries.

This section defines terms for the Act, including the appropriate congressional committees (the Senate and House committees on energy and foreign affairs); Eastern Mediterranean countries (Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, and Israel); and IMEC countries (the European Union, Germany, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, India, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and others designated by the Secretary of State).