Cyprus is one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the new enhanced Strategic Partnership between the EU and Egypt, President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides said in an interview with Al-Ahram, in the light of the signing of the agreement during the weekend, in Cairo.
He spoke of the bilateral relations, noting that Cyprus and Egypt not only have excellent relations, but they are also strategic partners, with a close cooperative relationship and common objectives, striving to ensure security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean, based on the principles of international law and sovereign equality.
Replying to a question the President said that one of the most tangible fields they are looking to enhance cooperation in is that of human resources, where Egypt has much to offer due to its young and dynamic workforce.
He added that several other agreements, both bilateral and trilateral, are under discussion with a view to being concluded at the next bilateral government to government Summit and the next
trilateral summit, respectively.
In the interview, the Cyprus President also referred to the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF), which was founded as a result of an Egyptian initiative, describing it as a valuable tool for regional energy cooperation among states that want to cooperate on equal terms based on mutual respect and adhering to international law, with the common objective of seeing our people prosper and our region emerge as an energy hub.
He recalled that Cyprus and Egypt signed an agreement in 2019 for the construction of a submarine pipeline to transport natural gas from Cyprus to Egypt using the latter’s existing infrastructure for liquefication and re-export. This option, he noted, continues to have precedence as the preferred course of action, both politically and commercially.
He also spoke of the trilateral cooperation between Cyprus, Egypt, and Greece which reflects a strategic alliance in the service of our common priority of seeing peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.
President Christodoulides said that Cyprus considers Egypt to be indispensable, both as a bilateral partner, but also in our immediate region, as well as in the broader Middle East and Africa.
‘We firmly believe that Egypt is a bedrock of stability in a volatile part of the world and that the security of Cyprus and Egypt are inextricably linked. Cyprus seeks to bring Europe closer to Egypt and Egypt closer to Europe. No power today has any doubts about the systemic strategic importance of Egypt as a security pillar and a cooperative international partner’, he noted.
He also spoke of the measures Cyprus is currently taking to tackle migration and the refugee crises and pointed out that due to its geographical proximity to Syria, Cyprus is exposed to disproportionately large numbers of illegal migrants arriving from the area, which puts pressure on our reception system and makes economic and social integration difficult.
”In this regard, our efforts are now focused on the re-evaluation by the EU collectivel
y of the state of affairs in Syria, or at least of specific areas in the country, based on existing realities and the evaluation of the EU Asylum Agency”, he said.
He furthermore said that Cyprus aims to enhance the presence of Europol in the Eastern Mediterranean, so as to better fight migrant smuggling.
‘We strongly believe that cooperation between Europol, the Cyprus Police, and the Lebanese Authorities is essential on this point, especially taking into consideration the geopolitical developments in our region’, he concluded.
Source: Cyprus News Agency