Cyprus, Greece and Egypt agree guidelines of tripartite cooperation 23 September, 2013 The guidelines on continuing and upgrading tripartite cooperation were agreed during a meeting of the foreign ministers of Greece, Cyprus and Egypt. Speaking after the meeting that took place at the Egyptian Permanent Representation to the UN, Cypriot FM Ioannis Kasoulides said the talks will continue on the level of political directors of the ministries, based on the guidelines agreed on political and economic issues. Kasoulides said that the Director Generals of the Ministries of the three countries will probably meet in Cairo while more meetings will follow in the other capitals. He said Cyprus welcomes the fact that the three countries which belong to the eastern Mediterranean, consider that developments in the region make it imperative to have an understanding on a tripartite level. Kasoulides said that beyond the political matters that will be examined “as we live in a volatile region of Eastern Mediterranean, we will also examine issues of economic investments, tourism and joint programmes that can be funded from the Euro Mediterranean partnership. He further said that it was agreed that Egypt together with Cyprus and Egypt and Greece have bilateral issues concerning their Exclusive Economic Zones and talks will begin the soonest and concurrently. Kasoulides underlined that the agreement between Cyprus and Egypt is still in effect. “Some circles, encouraged by Turkey, wanted to question the agreement but there is no such issue”, he added. On his part, Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos said that the tripartite meeting sends a message that we “are determined to promote this political cooperation, to organize it to a ministerial level and to function within the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean region as three countries that are interested in stability, peace and development”. He also said that the tripartite cooperation does not affect bilateral cooperation “but allows the three countries define their sea zones and make use of the possibilities granted by the international law of the sea in the Mediterranean and deal with energy, providing for development prospects for our peoples”. Venizelos also said that Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy briefed them on developments in his country. “We are very interested that Egypt follows a democractic path that will unite the Egyptian society and give the people the feeling of security and prosperity”, he added. Venizelos further said that Greece, which will undertake the next EU Presidency, will be ready to convey the needs and demands of the Egyptian side and in cooperation with the Republic of Cyprus, undertake specific initiatives in the field of economy and investments, in cooperation with the private sector”.
Posted on: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 06:16:21 +0000
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