The Joint Committee for Cooperation between the governments of the Republic of Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates held its first Meeting today, via teleconference.
The Joint Committee was established on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding signed on 15 June 2019 by the Foreign Ministers of the two countries, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides and Seikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, respectively, and aims, inter alia, at promoting the launch of projects for cooperation and coordination in various fields, as well as establishing the necessary mechanisms to achieve the objectives set in this context, to serve the mutual interests of the two countries.
Today's Meeting, which was co-chaired by Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides and the Minister of State of the United Arab Emirates, Ahmed Al Sayegh, focused on reinforcing bilateral relations in a wide range of areas, including trade, investment, energy, shipping, education, culture, tourism, security and defense.
Following the meeting, the two Ministers signed a relevant Protocol in an online ceremony, which lays down clearly the framework of cooperation and is expected to be the roadmap for the further development of bilateral relations between Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates in various fields.
Τhe Committe's Meeting was preceded by intensive preparatory meetings at the level of technocrats and experts from the relevant Ministries and Services of the two countries, which took place on 22 and 23 September, via video conference. In addition to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the meetings were attended by representatives from the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth, the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry, the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, the Deputy Ministry for Shipping, the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency, the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Employers and Industrialists, the Cyprus Shipping Chamber and the Cyprus Shipping Association.