Regional instability in the region is one of the biggest setbacks to investment in the Eastern Mediterranean, President Nicos Anastasiades said on Monday.
Regional cooperation on energy, climate and security was at the centre of Anastasiades’ address to the opening of the Economist Conference in Nicosia on Monday.
“Instability in the region has a significant impact on economic cooperation, foreign investment and development, since peace and stability are what are first and foremost taken into account by serious investors,” Anastasiades said, adding that for Cyprus, no country in the region was excluded from his government’s regional cooperation initiatives.
He called on Turkey to respond positively to Cyprus’ invitation to delimit the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between the two countries “as we have already done with Egypt, Lebanon and Israel”.
The further deepening of relations with neighbouring states, on the basis of multilateral cooperation is a key pillar of the whole project of tripartite or multilateral partnerships that Cyprus has developed, he said.
“We seek, and we will continue to do so, to achieve good neighbourly relations with all the states in the region, among them, of course, is Turkey.”
He said the only prerequisite for this, and any other regional cooperation is that it should be based on the principles of international law, legitimacy, mutual respect and peaceful coexistence.
“As a sovereign and independent state, despite any unacceptable challenges, we will remain focused on exercising our sovereign rights and honouring our contractual obligations,” he said in reference to hydrocarbons’ exploration and exploitation by foreign energy giants in Cyprus’ EEZ.
Anastasiades said no one could dispute that the region was highly vulnerable and turbulent with the conflicts in Palestine, Syria, Libya, Lebanon and Yemen, and the intervention of third states “questioning their independence and territorial integrity”.
Characteristic of this, he added, was Turkey’s recent invasion of Syria, “and what has been happening for the last 45 years in Cyprus”. Turkey’s violations of Cyprus’s EEZ were added to the list.
Referring to the tripartite partnerships Cyprus has, along with Greece cultivated with Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine, he said this was done with a view to promoting stability, security and prosperity through the adoption of a more institutionalised cooperation, in areas such as energy, climate change, the exchange of information and the fight against terrorism, economic cooperation, through investments in the areas of tourism, agriculture, health, education. of culture, research and innovation.
“In view of the stated political will by all the states involved to extend our cooperation in new areas of common interest, I am firmly convinced that accepting our proposal to establish a permanent secretariat in Cyprus will contribute to essential coordination of joint actions and initiatives,” he added.
Referring to Cyprus’s climate proposals, he said a regional initiative was underway that aims to coordinate the actions of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.
“More specifically, the aim is to bring the leading scientists and decision makers of our region closer, with the ultimate aim of developing best practices and feasible solutions that will have practical results in dealing with the phenomenon,” Anastasiades said.
He pledged that Cyprus would continue to invest in regional cooperation and in maintaining and strengthening close relations with neighbouring countries and to play a leading role as a bridge between the EU and the wider region
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