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Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades will visit Israel on Sunday together with two of his most senior ministers for talks with Prime Minister Benyamin and other senior government officials on energy, regional security and tourism.
Anastasiades visited Jerusalem in May 2013, and in June 2014 he invited Netanyahu to visit Cyprus, which had been delayed due to the elections in Israel.
“There are several issues where we have a common approach, which we plan to enhance further through dialogue. There is a political will both on behalf of (the government in) Nicosia and Jerusalem to strengthen these ties,” government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides had said after a recent meeting with outgoing Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who was on the island on a private visit.
The talks at the presidential retreat in Troodos focused on defence, energy, the economy and tourism. He added that discussions also included regional issues, such as the latest developments in Iran.
Israeli energy giant Delek and its subsidiary Avner are 30% stakeholders in the Block 12 offshore natural gas field “Aphrodite”, operated by US-based Noble Energy, with reserves of 4.5 tcf, lying adjacent to the partners’ gasfield in the Israeli exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Tamar and Leviathan.
Regional conflicts have also prompted closer cooperation in matters of air and sea security in the eastern Mediterranean with joint exercise by Cyprus and Israeli land, see and air units, as well as maritime search and rescue operations and patrols.
During the visit, the President will be accompanied by First Lady Andri Anastasiades, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, Energy and Tourism Minister Georgos Lakkotrypis, the government spokesman and other officials.
The delegation will arrive on Sunday morning and meet with Patriarch Theophilos III in Jerusalem. On Monday, Anastasiades will be received by President Reuven Rivlin at the Presidential Residence, followed with bilateral meetings.
The Cyprus delegation will later visit Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu for a working lunch, followed by a meeting with opposition leader Yitzhak Herzog and will lay a wreath at Theodor Herzl’s tomb. The day will end with an official banquet hosted by the Israeli president.
On the sidelines of the visit, Kasoulides and Lakkotrypis will exchange views with Energy and National Infrastructure Minister Yuval Steinitz, while the Foreign Minister will also meet his counterpart Tzipi Hotovely and the Tourism Minister his counterpart Yarin Levin.
The Cypriot delegation will return home on Tuesday.
