Kombos holds 51 meetings in New York diplomatic push

Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos held a total of 51 meetings and contacts in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, as part of efforts to expand the Republic of Cyprus’ diplomatic footprint, he said on Friday. His busy programme on Friday included a trilateral meeting between the foreign ministers of Cyprus, Greece and Jordan, a high-level summit of Europe’s small states and participation in President Nikos Christodoulides’ meeting with the United Arab Emirates’ industry minister. “Overall, we had 51 meetings and contacts” as part of efforts to expand the Republic’s diplomatic footprint, Kombos said. “In addition, we had the opportunity to sign new memoranda of cooperation with other countries,” he added. “These are tangible results and examples of the effort being made.” Kombos said that amid the problems Cyprus faces and “the threat which we have before us”, efforts were focused on strengthening the country’s statehood. “This is done through contacts, through developing relations and through creating the institutional framework which allows the Republic of Cyprus to appear as an equal member of the international community,” he said. Cyprus, he added, was a member which also had much to contribute, both through the role it was developing in the region and as an EU member state. Kombos stressed that “this effort continues and must continue because nothing is handed to us”. “We do not have the luxury of expecting others to do this work for us and this effort must continue without any interference and without taking into account efforts which may possibly be made to prevent us,” he said. He added that the contacts were concluding what he described as a significant week, with the ultimate goal being for “what has been done during this period to be used as a springboard for the further development of our bilateral relations with all those countries with which we had the opportunity and ability to speak and share our concerns this week”. According to a foreign ministry post on X, Kombos met his Greek counterpart Giorgos Gerapetritis and Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi as part of the Cyprus-Greece-Jordan trilateral meeting. “We reaffirmed our commitment to further strengthening our trilateral cooperation and discussed further steps ahead of the next summit,” Kombos said. “We exchanged views on the latest regional developments, guided by a positive agenda promoting inclusive cooperation, stability and prosperity.” In a separate meeting with Safadi, Kombos said the two discussed the excellent bilateral relations between Cyprus and Jordan and ways to further strengthen cooperation, while reaffirming their commitment to peace, security and stability in the region. Earlier on Friday, Kombos and Andorra’s prime minister and foreign minister co-hosted a high-level summit of Europe’s small states in New York. Discussions focused on strengthening coordination and cooperation between small European states within the UN and other regional and multilateral forums, as well as the UN reform process and the election of the organisation’s next Secretary-General. Kombos also met his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, with whom he discussed regional developments and expressed Cyprus’ solidarity. The two also discussed Cyprus-Kuwait bilateral relations and expressed their readiness to develop them further. Kombos described his meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan as productive. “We reaffirmed the excellent level of our bilateral relations as well as our firm commitment to further strengthening cooperation,” he said. He also met Mauritania’s Foreign Minister, African Cooperation and Mauritanians Abroad Minister Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, with discussions focusing on ways to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation in multilateral forums. Kombos additionally held talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. “We reaffirmed the deeply rooted strategic partnership between Cyprus and Egypt and our shared commitment to greater regional stability, EU-Egypt relations and energy cooperation,” Kombos said.