CAIRO, April 10, 2018 - Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri on Tuesday expressed the keenness of Egypt on the promotion of bilateral relations with Cyprus in such a manner that would push trade and investment exchanges to the same high levels of political ties. Addressing a joint press conference after his talks with visiting Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides, Minister Shoukri paid tribute to the genuine ties that bind Cairo and Nicosia. "My talks with Mr. Christodoulides dealt with the furtherance of Egyptian-Cypriot ties in all domains, future plans for widening the scope of bilateral co-operation, and the joint challenges facing the two countries such as preserving peace and security in the Eastern Mediterranean region," Minister Shoukri said. He added that the talks also deal with all the dimensions of the Palestinian Cause, the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people for setting up their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, the Syrian crisis and Cyprus role in highlighting the developments in the Eastern Mediterranean region among the European Union circles. For his part, Mr. Christodoulides said that he discussed with Minister Shoukri enhancing bilateral ties in all domains with a special focus on the energy field, as well as shoring up the work of the tripartite cooperation mechanism involving Egypt, Cyprus and Greece. The two top diplomats said that reviewed the efforts made by Egypt to confront terrorism and resolve the on-going regional crises through diplomatic means. The visiting senior Cypriot official expressed his country's appreciation for the pivotal role undertaken by Egypt in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean region. Minister Christodoulides also stressed that Cyprus fully appreciated Egypt's valuable contribution to fighting terrorism and extremism and realising peace and security in the region. Mr. Christodoulides's visit to Egypt is his second since taking office as foreign minister in March, underscoring the close ties between the two regional allies and their efforts for a joint energy strategy. He said that there was a bright future for the co-operation between Cyprus and Egypt in the field of energy. Minister Shoukri also said Egypt looked forward to hosting Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades in the near future.
