The Cyprus–Greece–Israel trilateral summit is taking place today, Monday 22 December, in Jerusalem.
President Nikos Christodoulides said the aim of the “very important” summit was to help create conditions for security and cooperation across the wider Middle East.
Prior to the Summit, Christodoulides will meet with the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, to be followed by a meeting with Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Separate bilateral meetings will also take place between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Ministers of Energy of Cyprus and Israel.
The Cyprus-Greece-Israel Trilateral Summit will follow, and then the leaders of the three countries will make statements to the media.
Noting that there are many issues on the bilateral agenda, Christodoulides said he had been informed there are 186 flights per week to and from Israel, calling this indicative of the relationship between the two countries. He also pointed to the presence of Israeli visitors among those attending the Lefkara event.
President Christodoulides said the visit will also include the 10th trilateral meeting, where discussions will aim – through cooperation and a “positive approach” – to create conditions for security and collaboration in the broader Middle East.
He added that the summit is taking place just days before Cyprus assumes the EU Council Presidency, and said an informal European Council meeting is scheduled for 23–24 April during the Presidency. At that meeting, he said, the European Union will present specific projects – “projects, not just words and statements” – related to the region.
Christodoulides said Cyprus is pursuing these objectives through trilateral cooperation not only with Israel, but also with Egypt and other countries in the region, in order to strengthen cooperation between the EU and the wider Middle East.
Meanwhile, Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said in a written statement that the summit’s agenda also includes the prospect of further strengthening the 3+1 cooperation format with the participation of the USA, as part of a broader dynamic of regional integration aimed at enhancing the Eastern Mediterranean’s role as a bridge of strategic, energy and economic connectivity
Emphasis is expected to be placed on the energy sector and interconnected infrastructure, with the aim of providing political impetus to existing and new energy projects, also capitalising on the recent positive momentum created by the signing of the Agreement on the Delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) between Cyprus and Lebanon, he said.
It is noted that the Summit takes place two years after the 9th Trilateral Summit, which was hosted in Nicosia on 4 September 2023.
(Photo by Amos Ben Gershom / GPO, from previous trilateral summit)
