President Nikos Christodoulides on Sunday held a telephone call with the United Arab Emirates’ President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan ahead of Monday’s summit in Egypt on the future of Gaza, which both men will attend.
According to government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis, Christodoulides told Al Nahyan that he “welcomed the agreement” forged to bring about a ceasefire between the State of Israel and Hamas and begin the process of bringing about peace in the region.
Letymbiotis said Christodoulides had also “underlined the importance” of the “full implementation” of United States President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza “by all parties”, describing it as “a prerequisite for ending the humanitarian crisis and creating conditions of lasting peace and stability in the region”.
Additionally, he said, Christodoulides “praised the responsible and constructive role played by the United Arab Emirates in regional developments and in promoting peace and coexistence in the wider region”.
He added that both presidents had “exchanged views on the prospects for strengthening cooperation between the two countries, particularly in regard to the humanitarian dimension and the reconstruction of Gaza”.
To this end, he said, Christodoulides “reiterated the Republic of Cyprus’ readiness to contribute, in close cooperation with the United Arab Emirates and with the international community, to the collective efforts for peace, stability, and the reconstruction of the region”.
Cyprus and the UAE have frequently cooperated through the Amalthea plan – Cyprus’ maritime humanitarian aid corridor to Gaza – with the two countries most recently collaborating in August and September to send a shipment of 1,200 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza via the Israeli port of Ashdod.
Leaders from 22 countries will attend Monday’s summit in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh, with Christodoulides having earlier said that Cyprus has “a specific plan which we will develop … in relation to the reconstruction of Gaza”.
“We want Cypriot companies to have a role in the reconstruction of the country, we want the Republic of Cyprus to have a role in security issues, all those which fall within what has been agreed, especially in the first phase of the agreement,” he said.
