President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, received on Friday morning with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at the Presidential Palace.
The two leaders held a private meeting. Von der Leyen arrived to Cyprus on Thursday evening to inspect the existing infrastructure, for a maritime humanitarian aid corridor to Gaza via Cyprus.
After their meeting, Christodoulides and von der Leyen left the Presidential Palace to visit the port of Larnaca and the facilities of the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC), in order to inspect the existing infrastructure for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, in the context of the opening of a maritime humanitarian corridor. The two leaders will then make statements to the press.
Earlier this week, the von der Leyen said that the Commission “will support the implementation of the Cyprus Sea Corridor initiative” to the Gaza Strip, following a telephone conversation with President Christodoulides.
Moreover, on Thursday evening, US P
resident Joe Biden, during his State of the Union address to Congress, announced the intention to build a temporary pier in Gaza, which seems to make the operation of a sea corridor for sending humanitarian aid via Cyprus feasible.
Source: Cyprus News Agency