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Cyprus – Israel relations at their highest point

16/06/2015 10:34
My presence in Israel today is a continuation of the positive historical record in the bilateral relations between Cyprus and Israel, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said on Monday evening addressing a state dinner hosted in his honour by the President of Israel Reuven Rivlin.

He stressed that the expanding of cooperation between the two countries is not directed against any third country. “To the contrary, our goal is to resolve the soonest possible long-standing problems, which threaten the existence of our countries,” he noted. Our struggle is to achieve an enduring solution in Israel but also in Cyprus, on the basis of UN Security Council Resolutions, he added.

Anastasiades said that today the relations of the two countries at their highest point, not due to necessity or because of economic or political necessity like in the past, but due to free will and choice.

“As our economic and business ties develop further, our political will to nurture and cultivate further our bilateral relations grows stronger. Our cooperation extends over a wide range of fields, from tourism, economic exchanges, agriculture, business and high tech industries. Commercial and trade ties have expanded and cultural relations have blossomed,” he noted.

He said that today Cyprus boasts a synagogue and in 2013 the University of Cyprus with the cooperation of the Embassy of Israel in Cyprus, launched a Jewish Studies department.

Cooperation in the field of energy

He noted that the discovery of hydrocarbon reserves now holds the potential to bring us together also in the field of energy cooperation. “This discovery has opened new horizons for our bilateral relations and we are working tirelessly and with determination to realize this potential to our mutual benefit,” he added.

With regard to developments on the Cyprus problem, Anastasiades said that they are promising and that he is encouraged by the fact that full-fledged negotiations aiming at a comprehensive, viable and fair settlement of the Cyprus issue have restarted with the new Turkish Cypriot leader. We are cautiously optimistic that conditions may soon prevail that may enable substantive progress and eventually a lasting solution, he added.

Furthermore referring to the Middle East Peace Process he expressed hope that the ultimate goal of peace, through a mutually agreed two state solution, could be the basis for a more stable and secure future.

President Anastasiades expressed his deepest appreciation for Rivlin`s invitation to visit Israel, noting that this is the first State Visit of a Foreign Head of State during Rivlin`s Presidency. “I am truly grateful for this unique honour,” he added.

He continued recalling that Cyprus played a small, yet significant role in the history of modern Israel. “From 1946 to 1949, the British who were then the overlords of the island, established internment camps in Cyprus for the thousands of Jewish refugees fleeing Europe after the end of Second World War and the abominable horror of the Holocaust,” he said.

During this period, he added, approximately 53,000 Jews passed from Cyprus, while during the same period, 2000 children were born in Cyprus, a testament that glimmers of hope can be found even in dark times. The Cypriot people, also victims of British colonial policy, moved by the drama of the Jewish refugees, helped them in their efforts to escape British internment and continue their journey to Israel, he said.

On his part, President Rivlin expressed hope that “this visit will take our relationship from being dear neighbours and friends, to feeling, truly, like close family.”

He recalled that during his visit to Israel in June 2013, President Anastasiades spoke of his desire to enhance and develop our strategically, important bilateral relations. “You also emphasized our mutual commitment to develop and utilize our cross-border Mediterranean natural gas and oil reserves. On the more worrying side of things, you referred to the situation in Syria, and expressed concern that the crisis may spill over into the wider region,” he added.

He noted that “we can firmly agree, that you were right on target; not only with your positive and optimistic hopes, regarding the `constructive, creative and effective cooperation` - as you put it - between our countries; but also unfortunately, with regard to the distressing deterioration in the region around us.”

He referred to the economic discovery of the Mediterranean natural gas reserves, which "is constantly bringing our two islands closer together,” adding that “we have of course, always shared much in common, culturally and historically.”

“We will never forget what the people of Cyprus have done for all those refugees who were coming back to their homeland. But working together, as close economic partners to ensure our future makes Cyprus seem even closer,” he noted and wished the peoples of Israel and Cyprus as well as their governments "much success in further enhancing our strategic, economic, and cultural relationship, and may I add our affection too."

In the afternoon, President Anastasiades laid a wreath at the burial site of Theodor Herzl, on Mount Herzl.

He returns to Cyprus on Tuesday morning.