Greece, Cyprus, Israel, UAE foreign ministers to meet in Paphos
The foreign ministers of Cyprus, Greece, Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – Nikos Christodoulides, Nikos Dendias, Gabi Ashkenazi and Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, respectively – are scheduled to meet on Friday and Saturday in Paphos, Cyprus.
The UAE foreign minister will participate via video conference and his representative at the in-person meetings will be Anwar Gargash, a former UAE state minister for foreign affairs who is currently the diplomatic advisor of UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed.
It is the first joint meeting of the four countries’ foreign ministers and is made possible by the recent normalization of relations between Israel and UAE. It aims to capitalize on the prospects arising as a result of this development, for the further broadening of regional cooperation networks based on a positive agenda, in order to promote peace, stability and security in the wider region.
During the meeting, the participants will exchange views on a series of regional issues and matters of common interest, with a focus on recent developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Gulf, as well as the situation in Syria, Libya and Yemen.
The ministers will also hold broader discussions with the participation of their official delegations on targeted proposals for promoting cooperation between the four countries and others, in specific areas such as managing the pandemic and its repercussions, economic cooperation, energy, tourism and crisis management, as well as increasing exchanges of young people and between academic and research institutions.
According to the Cypriot Foreign Ministry, Christodoulides will also have bilateral meetings with his Greek and Israeli counterpart, and the UAE minister’s representative on the sidelines of the quadrilateral meeting.
On Saturday morning, the visiting ministers will have a joint meeting with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades in Paphos. [ANA-MPA]
