Foreign Minister, Constantinos Kombos, has placed particular importance to the two recent agreements Cyprus Republic signed with UAE and France, pointing out that “the conclusion of essentially two strategic agreements by the Republic in twenty-four hours is not something that is usual”.
The Minister who made statements to the press following the Cabinet’s meeting on Tuesday, noted that these two cases as well as the agreement with India during its Premier’s visit to Cyprus, have their own special importance nevertheless they are linked to each other diplomatically.
He recalled that the government set as its main driving objective from the very beginning the expansion of Cyprus’ footprint, but also the strengthening and exploitation of the Republic’s credibility, as well as the highlighting of the possibility for the Republic of Cyprus to function as a bridge between our wider region and the European Union.
He went on to say that the two agreements of the last few hours reflect exactly this, noting that the UAE is a very important country in the region with global influence and so is France, an EU member state and a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
He also highlighted the fact that these developments are taking place a few days before the Republic of Cyprus assumes the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Kombos also underlined that these agreements are accompanied by action plans, which include a specific structured dialogue between the two countries and go beyond political declarations.
The Minister noted that one can identify references to the Cyprus problem, issues that are crucial for our side, but beyond that there is now an action plan, a structured dialogue with specific projects that will be examined, with the aim of their implementation within the framework of a dialogue, which has now been launched in a specific and targeted manner. He pointed out that they do not take place in a political vacuum and that preparatory work was carried out with consistency in terms of maximizing the potential for implementation.
The FM also noted that one should not take it for granted that these countries, namely the UAE and France, automatically conclude such agreements as they have their own interests. He further underlined the fact that the Republic of Cyprus falls within the broader sphere of their interests.
Kombos continued by saying that what he described is not unrelated to what is happening with Cyprus’ economy, the vote of confidence, credibility and stability, factors that lead to a favourable investment environment and interest.
He stressed that the result for Cyprus is self-evident from the point of view that the Republic of Cyprus, which is considered by some to be a defunct state, is present at the international level.
”We are still at the beginning of this effort, but we must not ignore the very basic parameter that there is institutional basis, trust and the launching of a political dialogue, with specific projects,” he said.