The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Constantinos Kombos, had a total of 51 contacts in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, noting in a statement that these are part of the effort to strengthen the diplomatic footprint of the Republic of Cyprus.
Among his contacts on Friday, Minister Kombos attended a trilateral meeting with his counterparts from Greece and Jordan, as well as a High-Level Summit of the Small States of Europe. He also attended a meeting of the President of the Republic with the Minister of Industry of the United Arab Emirates.
“Overall, we had 51 meetings and contacts within the framework of the activity to enhance the diplomatic footprint of the Republic of Cyprus,” Kombos stated. “Additionally, we had the opportunity to sign new memoranda of cooperation with other countries,” he added. He said that amid the problems and the threat that the country is facing, “the effort focuses on strengthening our state entity and this is done through contacts, through the development of relationships, and through the creation of the institutional framework that allows the Republic of Cyprus to present itself as an equal member of the International Community,” noting that Cyprus “has a lot to offer, both in terms of the role we are developing in our region as well as by being a member state of the European Union.”
Kombos further emphasized that “this effort continues and must continue.” He added that “we do not have the luxury of waiting for others to do this work for us and this effort must continue without any interruption and without taking into account the efforts that may possibly be made to prevent us.”
Finally, he mentioned that these contacts were held during a quite significant week, adding that the ultimate goal is “all that has been done during this period to be used as a springboard for further development of our bilateral relations with all those countries with which we had the opportunity and the ability to talk and share our concerns this week.”
In a post on X, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that, at the trilateral meeting of Cyprus-Greece-Jordan, he met with his counterparts, George Gerapetritis and Ayman al-Safadi. “We reaffirmed our commitment to further strengthen our bilateral cooperation and discussed further steps in view of the next Summit,” he said. “We exchanged views on the latest regional developments, guided by a positive agenda that promotes inclusive cooperation, stability, and prosperity,” he added.
Furthermore, Kombos mentioned that in a private meeting with al-Safadi, they discussed the excellent bilateral relations between Cyprus and Jordan and ways to further strengthen cooperation, while reaffirming their commitment to peace, security, and stability in the region.
Additionally, on Friday morning, Kombos and the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Andorra co-organized in New York a High-Level Summit of the Small States of Europe. The discussions focused on enhancing coordination and cooperation among small European states within the UN, as well as other regional and multilateral forums, as well as the UN reform process and the election of the next Secretary-General of the Organization.
Kombos also had a meeting with his counterpart from Kuwait, Sheikh Jarra Jaber Al Sabah, with whom he discussed, as he noted in a post, regional developments. He also notes that the meeting addressed the bilateral relations between Cyprus and Kuwait and the potential of further development.
In a post about his meeting with his his Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan, Kombos notes that is was a productive one. “We reaffirmed the excellent level of our bilateral relations as well as our cohesive commitment to further strengthen cooperation,” Kombos notes.
He also had a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, of African Cooperation and of Mauritanians Abroad of Mauritania, Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, with whom they discussed ways to enhance bilateral relations and cooperation in multilateral forums.
Additionally, he met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Badr Abdelatty. “We reaffirmed the deeply rooted strategic partnership between Cyprus and Egypt and our joint commitment to greater regional stability, EU-Egypt relations, and cooperation in energy,” Kombos noted.