Nicosia to host next Cyprus, Israel, Greece summit

Nicosia will host the next trilateral meeting of Cyprus, Israel and Greece Foreign Ministers focusing on energy cooperation and security in the East Med.

Cyprus Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides and Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi agreed on Tuesday to further extend and enhance their bilateral cooperation especially political dialogue, security, energy, tourism, research, and innovation as well as investments.

They discussed the latest developments in the broader region of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, focusing on the destabilizing activities of Turkey, the Middle East issue, the alarming situation in Libya and developments in Syria.

Christodoulides paid a short working visit to Israel, followed by extended talks of delegations of the two Ministries.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the talks took place at Ben Gurion airport, Tel Aviv, where Christodoulides arrived in a Cyprus Air Force helicopter.

A statement issued by the Foreign Ministry said the two sides “confirmed the excellent level of bilateral relations between Cyprus and Israel”, 60 years after establishing diplomatic relations, and reaffirmed commitment to further enhance bilateral cooperation.

It said repercussions of the pandemic in both countries and the broader region were discussed, as well as the cooperation of Cyprus and Israel to address them effectively, while views were exchanged about the secure restart of tourism, as soon as conditions allow.

Christodoulides and Ashkenazi “reviewed with satisfaction the progress achieved in concrete areas of the trilateral cooperation mechanism of Cyprus, Israel and Greece and agreed the next trilateral meeting of the three Foreign Ministers will take place in Cyprus”.

The two Ministers also discussed EU-Israel relations and agreed about the importance of enhancing and promoting them, recognizing the positive role that Cyprus can play in this direction.