FMs of Cyprus, Greece, Israel and UAE to hold meeting in Paphos

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, Greece, Nikos Dendias, Israel, Gabi Ashkenazi, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will hold a meeting in Paphos on Friday and Saturday. The latter will participate via a teleconference and will be represented at  the meeting by the Diplomatic Adviser of the UAE President and former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash.

According to press release issued by the Foreign Ministry, this is the first joint meeting of the four countries` Foreign Ministers, and it was possible to organize it after the recent normalization of the relations between Israel and the UAE. The press release added that the meeting aims at making use of the prospects created after this development, to further extend regional cooperation networks, on the basis of a positive agenda and to boost peace, stability and security in the broader region.

Participants in the meeting, which will begin on Friday, are expected to exchange views on a series of regional issues and issues of mutual interest, focusing among others on the latest developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Gulf, as well as the situation in Syria, Libya and Yemen, the press release noted.

They will also have the chance to discuss, in the presence of delegations, targeted proposals to develop cooperation among the four countries, and beyond them, in concrete fields, among others, on ways to address the pandemic and its repercussions, economic cooperation, energy, tourism, crisis management and expanding relations among young people and academics/research institutions.

After the conclusion of the joint meeting, the Ministers will make statements that will be live streamed via the Foreign Ministry`s website (www.mfa.gov.cy)

On the sidelines of the meeting, Christodoulides will hold separate meetings with his counterparts from Greece and Israel, as well as with the Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President, in the framework of which mutual briefing and exchange of views on issues of bilateral interest will take place.

On Saturday morning participating Ministers will have a joint meeting with the President of the Republic, Nicos Anastasiades, that will take place at the venue of the meeting in Paphos.