Foreign Minister | In detail, all the contacts of Nikos Christodoulidis in New York

Defence Redefined

Published on 23/09/2021 at 09:32

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, Mr. Nikos Christodoulidis, who is in New York for the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, will attend today a tripartite meeting with his counterparts from Greece and Egypt, Mr. Nikos Dendias and Mr. Sameh Shoukry.

The Cypriot Foreign Minister is also expected to meet with the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia, Mrs. Battsetseg Batmunkh, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guyana, Mr. Hugh Hilton Todd, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Rwanda, Mr. Vincent Biruta, as well as with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Mr. Ararat Mirzoyan.

The Cypriot Foreign Minister had separate meetings and contacts yesterday with the Secretary-General of the Union for the Mediterranean, with the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, with the Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of the United Arab Emirates as well as with his counterparts in Libya, Serbia, Moldova, Syria, Iraq, Senegal and Georgia.

On Monday (20/9), the Foreign Minister had separate bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Egypt, Greece, Kuwait and Kyrgyzstan and participated in an informal meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the European Union member states. 

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During the working breakfast with the Secretary-General of the Union for the Mediterranean, Mr. Nasser Kamel, they exchanged views on the latest developments in the wider Mediterranean region and discussed ways to further strengthen the cooperation between Cyprus and the Union as well as the possibility of creating a rapid response force in cases of natural disasters, which will consist of detachments and equipment that will come from the Member States of the Union for the Mediterranean.

During the following meeting with the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf, views were exchanged on the latest developments in the wider Gulf region, on the effects the situation in Afghanistan has on the countries in the region,  while the ever-expanding cooperation of Cyprus with the Council was reviewed. It was decided that in the near future the Secretary-General Mr. Al-Hajraf will visit Cyprus, inter alia, for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding for the institutionalization of consultations between the two sides which is in the final stage of negotiation. 

Afterwards, Mr. Christodoulidis had a meeting with the Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of the United Arab Emirates, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, where they mainly discussed the participation of Cyprus in the Expo2020 world exhibition that will open its doors next month in Dubai as well as the strengthening of Cyprus-UAE economic relations so that they reflect the excellent level of political relations that have been built by both countries.

During the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Libya, Ms. Najla El Mangoush, the situation in the country and the latest developments in the wider Eastern Mediterranean region along with the EU-Libya relations were discussed, while ways to reactivate the bilateral relations between Cyprus and Libya were considered, in light of the traditionally close bonds of friendship that connect the two countries and their peoples.

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Afterwards, Mr. Christodoulidis had a working lunch with his Serbian counterpart, Nikola Selaković, with whom they had the opportunity to exchange views, among other issues, on the situation in the Western Balkans, on EU-Serbia relations as well as the further development of bilateral relations.

In the afternoon, the Minister of Foreign Affairs first met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova, Mr. Nicu Popescu, with whom he discussed EU-Moldova relations and the prospects for their strengthening, while a mutual will was expressed to accelerate and complete the consultations with a view to signing the two-party agreement in the near future.

Afterwards, Mr. Christodoulidis had a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Syria, Mr. Faisal Mekdad, who briefed him on the situation in the country as well as about the humanitarian needs that arise due to the pandemic.

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At the meeting with the Iraqi Foreign Minister, Mr. Fuad Hussein, regional issues were discussed, including the possibility of Iraq participating in the regional cooperation networks established in the wider region as well as ways to further strengthen Cyprus-Iraq relations and cooperation. In this context, Messrs Christodoulidis and Hussein signed an agreement on the exemption of the visa requirement for holders of diplomatic and service passports between the two countries.

Later, Mr. Christodoulidis had a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Senegal, Mrs. Aïssata Tall Sall, with whom they discussed the strengthening of the bilateral cooperation between Cyprus and Senegal, in the framework of the International Organization of the Francophonie as well as EU-Senegal relations and EU-African Union relations, whose presidency will be assumed by the President of Senegal in 2022.

Finally, in the meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs with his Georgian counterpart, Mr. David Zalkaliani, issues related to the further development of bilateral relations, EU-Georgia relations as well as regional issues were discussed.

In the context of the meetings, Mr. Christodoulidis had the opportunity to inform his interlocutors about the latest developments in relation to the Cyprus issue.

With information from: ERT, defenceredefined.com.cy

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