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| Cyprus' President Anastasiades & King of Jordan Abdullah II at a meeting in Nicosia in September 2016 |
Nicosia will this autumn be hosting a tripartite meeting with Jordan and Greece, Deputy Government Spokesman Viktor Papadopoulos announced on Saturday.
Papadopoulos, who is accompanying President Nicos Anastasiades on an official trip to Amman, said the meeting was decided on during the course of a meeting between Anastasiades and the King of Jordan Abdullah II .
Papadopoulos said: “the President of the Republic accepted the King of Jordan’s own invitation to attend the International Economic Forum on the Middle East And Africa, in which many people in the region, heads of state and government, as well as many entrepreneurs, investment companies, are involved, and which is also very important to us. In this margins of the meeting, the President of the Republic had a series of very important contacts. First of all, she saw Mrs Mogherini, EU Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, and analysed his proposal for a repeat of (the Conference on Cyprus in) Geneva, as he had tabled it in the afternoon.They exchanged views on the Cyprus issue and the role of the EU in the effort to resolve the Cyprus problem, so that we have a functioning state within the EU and with all the acquis to govern the solution of the Cyprus problem.“
According to Papadopoulos, Anastasiades also had a meeting with the Prime Minister of Egypt Ibrahim Mahlab.
He said this had been a very important meeting where the Cyprus issue was discussed, and during which Anastasiades spoke about his proposal. Also discussed were energy and other regional issues.
“It is well known that Egypt wants to buy natural gas from Plot 12 and Aphrodite and they (Anastasiades and Mahlab) exchanged views on how this process can be speeded up,” Papadopoulos said.
The President of the Republic also had a meeting with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.
“They exchanged views on the Cyprus problem, the Middle East, the Palestinian issue, and issues of greater cooperation in the region for stability and peace, “Papadopoulos said.
Anastasiades also met with the Jordanian Prime Minister, Hani Al-Mulki, with whom he discussed bilateral issues, economic issues, investment issues, and issues related to the situation in the region, in addition to the Cyprus issue.
“It was extremely important that he met with the King of Jordan, a country with which in recent years, thanks both to the contribution of the Jordanian King and President Anastasiades, Cyprus – Jordanian relations have grown to a very high, desirable level, Papadopoulos said.
He continued: “Such is the cooperation in place in the region, in the fight against terrorism and on economic and other issues, that two countries have almost become siblings because Cyprus is also very important for Jordan in the EU, so that the positions of the Jordanian and the Arab world can be understood in the EU”.
Papadopoulos continued: “Cooperation in energy matters is very important, but cooperation in peace and stability is also very important in our turbulent area. The two leaders decided to hold a tripartite Cyprus-Jordan-Greece conference at the highest level in autumn in Cyprus and have both given instruction for the start the of the process on a ministerial level,” the deputy government spokesman said.
Asked whether the Energy and Security issues of the wider region will be high on the agenda of this trilateral meeting Papadopoulos said that these issues “were and are on the agenda with the Cyprus issue”.
Asked about the President’s response to the briefings he made to the Heads of State regarding his proposal in the talks, Papadopoulos said that “the President of the Republic is fully understood, he is met with absolute comprehension when explaining his proposal and when he explains how he sees that the process can go forward, so that we can have a solution to the Cyprus problem.The proposal submitted by the President of the Republic has found a very good and satisfactory response amongst his contacts”.
Asked if Anastasiades meets with the King of Spain in the afternoon, Papadopoulos replied in the affirmative, noting that this is a “very important meeting because Spain is also a country of the Europeam South. Recently, the President was in Spain at a meeting of the countries of the South, defining a line within the EU, in relation to the interests of the people of the South. “
Support and cooperation
Jordan’s appreciation of Cyprus support for the country’s challenges were also addressed by Jordanian King Abdullah II at his meeting with Anastasiades.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum held in Amman on the Middle East and North Africa.
Weloming Anastasiades, the King of Jordan said there is now a new era in relations between the two countries, noting: “your voice, especially within Europe, about the challenges facing the Jordan, does not go unnoticed by us, and on this occasion I thank you and your Government for all the support. “
SOURCE
Jordan’s appreciation of Cyprus support for the country’s challenges were also addressed by Jordanian King Abdullah II at his meeting with Anastasiades.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum held in Amman on the Middle East and North Africa.
Weloming Anastasiades, the King of Jordan said there is now a new era in relations between the two countries, noting: “your voice, especially within Europe, about the challenges facing the Jordan, does not go unnoticed by us, and on this occasion I thank you and your Government for all the support. “
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