The only way to successfully tackle common challenges is through regional cooperation, said the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, during his meeting on Thursday with the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications of Bahrain, Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, in view of the Conference on Interfaith Dialogue and Religious Tolerance, taking place on Friday in Nicosia.
Welcoming the Bahraini Minister, President Christodoulides conveyed his regards to King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, whom, he said, he is looking forward to receiving in Cyprus in 2027.
‘It is going to be very important in our joint efforts to enhance even more our bilateral cooperation, but also our cooperation in the region, following my visit in Bahrain, but also the visit of the Foreign Minister after the unfortunate events in our region’, he noted.
He also congratulated Dr. Al Khalifa for the excellent work the King Hamad Global Centre for Coexistence and Tolerance is doing. ‘We are very proud to have in Cyprus this conference, a conference that deals with common challenges, problems that we need to face. The only way to successfully tackle those challenges is through regional cooperation, we recognise and we greatly value your leadership on this specific issue’.
For his part, Dr. Al Khalifa, who is also President of the King Hammad Centre, said that the government of Bahrain recalls fondly President Christodoulides’ recent historic visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain last January, with the President noting that it was his first visit after Cyprus assumed the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, ‘because we wanted also to send a strong message about the need for the European Union to be actively involved in this region’.
The Bahraini minister then said that after President Christodoulides’ visit, his colleagues across government were working quite closely with their counterparts in Cyprus.
‘With the King Hamad Global Centre for Coexistence and Tolerance, we found very enthusiastic colleagues here in Cyprus, and the Foreign Minister particularly, to work with the common values that we both share in Bahrain and in Cyprus, values of coexistence, of openness, of acceptance. And in terms of religious intolerance, we truly do believe that enhancing such events and conferences similar to the one to be hosted tomorrow, we will take this opportunity to thank your leadership, colleagues at the Foreign Ministry, for preparing for this high-level conference on diversity, on coexistence and religious diversity’, he noted.
He added that the high calibre of participants from the EU institutions is very much encouraging, and expressed the belief that hosting the conference in Cyprus during this time is very important. ‘Having a conference is important, and transforming it into policies is equally as important. And being two islands and having these values deeply rooted in our history and our society, needs to be implemented and transformed into policies as much as possible’.
‘I am very glad to see the conference being convened in Cyprus, under the Presidency of Cyprus, and the presidency of Bahrain for the Gulf Cooperation Council, working quite collectively into building a long-term partnership in this particular field, because we truly do believe that the effect and impact of this conference will be very much appreciated’, he concluded.