The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ioannis Kasoulides, concluded yesterday September 26, 2022 his contacts in New York, where he participated in the high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly. The week’s schedule was full of consultations that yielded excellent results. Specifically, Mr. Kasoulides held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Armenia, Ukraine, Andorra, Egypt, Greece, Iceland, Moldova, North Macedonia, Serbia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, India, Algeria and Morocco.
It is noted that in this General Assembly the Republic of Cyprus attached great importance to holding meetings and strengthening relations with small states of various geographical regions. In this context, in bilateral meetings he held with the Foreign Ministers of Guyana and San Marino, Mr. Kasoulides signed separate Memoranda of Cooperation to deepen the political dialogue and political consultations between Cyprus and the countries in question.
Mr. Kasoulides also met with the US Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, in the presence of the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Energy of the US Department of State, Geoffrey Pyatt, where they discussed, among other, the upgraded strategic relationship between Cyprus and the US following the lifting of the embargo, as well as energy issues. Mr. Kasoulides also met with the head of the American Jewish Committee, David Harris, with the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council and with the UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, Miguel Angel Moratinos.
The Foreign Minister’s contacts focused, among other, on bilateral relations and the examination of ways to further deepen them, the current developments at the regional, European and international level, the reunification process of Cyprus as well as other matters of common interest.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs participated in the meeting of the Council of Ministers with the Secretary-General of the UN, while he also took part in the working lunch hosted by Cyprus in the presence of the Permanent Representatives of the 5 Permanent Members of the Security Council.
Additionally, Mr. Kasoulides participated in three separate trilateral meetings of the Foreign Ministers of Cyprus - Greece - Armenia, Cyprus - Greece - Egypt and Cyprus - Greece - Serbia. In these meetings, views were exchanged on the next steps and ways to maintain the political momentum in trilateral cooperation. In the trilateral meeting with Armenia, Mr. Kasoulides expressed Cyprus' support and solidarity with the Armenian people following the attacks by Azerbaijan.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs also participated with interventions in meetings held as part of the high-level week of the General Assembly on special themes such as UN Peace Operations, the fight against online sexual violence and child exploitation, as well as in a special meeting organized by Minister of Foreign Affairs of India on the 75th anniversary of India's independence and its long-standing contribution to the UN.
Finally, Mr. Kasoulides was interviewed by Bloomberg television network, and participated in events organized by Greek and Cypriot expatriate organizations.