President Nicos Anastasiades said that Cyprus would be willing to host a regional political and economic conference in an effort to build a bridge between Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, at a time when racial and religious conflict is tearing countries apart.
Speaking at the International Conference on Egypt’s Economic Development in Sharm El Sheikh on Friday, Anastasiades said that the mutual benefit is potentially of much higher importance and collectively more rewarding compared to any singular interest.
Gulf Arab allies pledged a further $12 bln of investment and central bank deposits for Egypt at the international summit, a big boost to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as he tries to reform the economy after years of political upheaval
“Joint cooperation in promoting our shared objectives of stability, security and prosperity by addressing the complex challenges the Eastern Mediterranean is facing can have a positive spill-over effect in building the foundations for regional peace,” Anastasiades said, adding that “economic partnerships create common interests and form an integral part of political synergies.”
Anastasiades congratulated the Egyptian President and his government for the measures already taken to initiate structural reforms and promote investment, noting that their efforts are already bearing fruit.
He stressed that Cyprus, from the very beginning, strongly supported Egypt’s political reforms and economic development initiatives, which, as he noted, are in the same line of thought as the current policies of the Cyprus government.
Noting that the actions of the extremist organisations in the region aim in the destabilisation of the region, Anastasiades said that “it is for this reason we welcome the increasing international cooperation for combating extremist groups that barricade themselves behind religious fundamentalism,” and assured that Cyprus, “despite being a small island state, is actively supporting this effort.”
Anastasiades was the only EU head of state who attended al-Sisi’s inauguration ceremony and ties have improved further in recent months with bilateral agreements signed on energy cooperation, especially as the Cyprus offshore oil and gas prospects are neighbouring to Egypt and the North African state is willing to join a pipeline venture to transport any hydrocarbons extracted from the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
During the Sharm El Sheikh meeting, a memorandum of understanding was signed to examine the transport of natural gas through an underwater pipeline from Cyprus’ offshore Block 12, explored and operated by US-based Noble Energy and junior partners Delek and Avner from Israel.
Tha agreement was signed by officials from the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company and Egypt’s Natural Gas Holding Co.
