Minister holds contacts in Abu Dhabi on water management, climate, rural development

Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Environment, Maria Panayiotou held a series of contacts in Abu Dhabi focusing on strengthening bilateral cooperation with the UAE in areas such as water management, climate adaptation and rural development.

According to a press release issued by the Ministry, the Minister traveled to Abu Dhabi for the World Utilities Conference and had separate bilateral meetings with the Minister of Climate Change of the United Arab Emirates, Amna Al Dhaha and with the Minister of Electricity and Water Resources of Bahrain, Yasser bin Ibrahim Humaidan.

Panayiotou thanked the UAE Minister for providing Cyprus with mobile desalination units, a support she described as a practical demonstration of the strong bilateral relations and the strong spirit of cooperation.

She also underlined the importance of further deepening cooperation in areas such as natural resource management, environment and energy.

The Minister pointed out, the press release said, that the Eastern Mediterranean and the Arab World can play a decisive role in promoting stability and development in the region. She stressed that strengthening cooperation in areas such as the environment, energy and natural resources constitutes a basis for resilience, prosperity and geopolitical stability.

Referring to the Cyprus Initiative on Climate Change in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, she informed that during the upcoming EU Cyprus Presidency, during the first half of 2026, a Ministerial Meeting is set to take place.

She also referred to Halloumi cheese exports and cooperation between the two countries for the implementation of the PDO mark in the UAE, as well as issues of exports of Cypriot agricultural and aquaculture products.

The meeting with the Minister of Water Resources and Electricity of Bahrain focused on the resumption of the process of signing a Memorandum of Understanding in the water sector, which is pending since 2021, as it is noted.

Discussing the common challenges faced by Cyprus and Bahrain, the Minister pointed out that they share vulnerabilities related in particular to climate change and sea level rise. These common experiences, she said, constitute a good basis for further cooperation.

On the sidelines of the two-day World Conference, the Minister participated as a speaker in two high-level thematic ministerial discussions.

During her first intervention on the panel titled “Looking ahead to COP30: strengthening the role of energy in updated national plans”, Panayiotou stated that, following the 2015 Paris Agreement, the European Union remains firmly committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030, while the targets for 2040 are under negotiation.

Regarding Cyprus, she underlined that the updated National Energy and Climate Plan has already been submitted, with the aim of achieving the European commitments, while highlighting, at the same time, the limitations arising from the country’s insular nature.

In a second panel, titled “Powering energy security through strategic cross-border water cooperation”, the Minister highlighted the importance of cross-border cooperation on water and energy issues, noting that Cyprus supports the adoption of a unified cross-border planning, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean region, where water scarcity and energy interdependence are critical challenges for regional stability.

Panayiotou also visited the Cyprus pavilion at 2025 Work Utilities Congress which was coordinated by the Cyprus Trade Centre in Dubai, hosting representatives, inter alia, from the Department of Water Development, the Cyprus Electricity Authority and the Solar Energy Manufacturers Association.

(Source: CNA)