Sustained, active and effective diplomacy is the answer to the challenges Cyprus faces, the Foreign Ministry said as Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos completed his contacts at UN headquarters in New York during the high-level week of the 81st UN General Assembly. According to the ministry, the aim was to expand the diplomatic footprint of the Republic of Cyprus by deepening bilateral relations, creating conditions for regular dialogue, developing mutually beneficial cooperation and upgrading the country's international standing. Kombos held a large number of bilateral meetings with foreign ministers from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Gulf, Asia and Central Asia. He met counterparts from Liberia, the Central African Republic, Switzerland, Qatar, Andorra, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates, Montenegro, Austria, Tanzania, Canada, Lebanon, Rwanda, Morocco, Serbia, Romania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bahrain, the Maldives, Azerbaijan, Botswana, Kenya, Kazakhstan, Brunei, San Marino, Singapore, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Moldova, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, India, Indonesia, Egypt, Jordan, Greece, Armenia, Mauritania and Kuwait.
He also met Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a candidate for UN Secretary-General, and Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development, who is also a candidate for the post. He further held talks with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih and Jorge Moreira da Silva, Executive Director of the UN Office for Project Services.
Nine agreements signed
A total of nine agreements and memoranda of cooperation were signed, the result of earlier preparation, with the aim of strengthening the institutional framework of bilateral relations. Cyprus signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Political Consultations with Liberia, and agreed to establish diplomatic relations with the Central African Republic. An Air Services Agreement was signed with Rwanda and a Memorandum of Understanding on higher education with the Philippines. Cyprus also announced its adoption of the Manila Declaration on seafarers, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Political Consultations with Romania. Two agreements, on cooperation and postal services, were signed with the Sovereign Order of Malta. An agreement on cooperation between the two countries' diplomatic academies was signed with Saudi Arabia, and an agreement with Indonesia waives visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and service passports.
Trilaterals and multilateral meetings
According to the ministry, the two trilateral ministerial meetings of Cyprus, Greece and Egypt and of Cyprus, Greece and Jordan were of particular political and substantive importance. Kombos also took part in the ministerial debate on the Middle East, the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers and a high-level ministerial meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution on Palestine. He attended a high-level side event organised by Greece and India on artificial intelligence in the context of international peace and security, with an emphasis on maritime security, which the ministry described as an issue of central importance for Cyprus. Cyprus also hosted the high-level meeting of the Small States of Europe, a joint initiative with the Principality of Andorra in which nine European states take part.
Kombos accompanied President Nikos Christodoulides in his bilateral meetings on the margins of the high-level week, including with the King of Jordan, the UN Secretary-General, the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Cyprus María Ángela Holguín, the UK Prime Minister, the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and representatives of Chevron and ExxonMobil. He also attended the lunch hosted by the President for the permanent representatives of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, and accompanied him in meetings with diaspora organisations in the United States.
Source: CNA
