Cyprus Editorial: Trilateral for regional peace

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The trilateral meeting held in Nicosia this week, the fifth meeting between the leaders of Cyprus, Egypt and Greece, has started producing tangible results, with all three taking significant steps in achieving closer cooperation in natural gas exploration and output, electricity interconnection, cooperation in promoting joint packages for tourism, and also signed a protocol on health and innovation business development.

At the same time, the Cyprus-Egypt business forum on Monday highlighted investment opportunities, mainly in Egypt’s ambitiously booming construction sector, with new infrastructure projects underway, the Suez Canal already being expanded, a a ‘New Capital City’ in the making and a serious turn to renewable energy sources, with solar parks dotting all over the country. Even the planting of 4,500 olive trees in a symbolic gesture in Egypt shows how tangible such a cooperation could be.

Soon after his return home, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi had also planned to meet Saeed Hariri who resigned as Prime Minister of Lebanon two weeks ago and sent his country into a new political turmoil.

Perhaps, this is a good opportunity to expand the trilateral summits to include countries like Lebanon, that has closer, warmer and stronger business ties with Cyprus than any other country in the Middle East.

Inviting Lebanon to join, as suggested president hopeful George Lillikas, could contribute towards achieving peace in our neighbouring country, already struggling with the overflow of Syrian refugees and the roaming of militant groups. Lillikas should know, as when he was foreign minister h visited war-torn Beirut and oversaw the evacuation of thousands of Lebanese and foreign nationals from the war a decade ago.

Incumbent Ioannis Kasoulides, too, enjoys great respect among regional leaders as he has played a key role in several Middle East affairs and conflicts. So, it could be up to him to initiate such a proposal and invite Lebanon to join, as the purpose of these trilateral meetings is to achieve cooperation.

It can (and possibly should) be done.