Press Releases

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Constantinos Kombos, participated in the proceedings of the 8th Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean held in Barcelona, Spain, on November 26th and 27th, 2023.

The discussions primarily focused on developments in the Middle East, the need to avoid a regional escalation of the crisis, and the urgent humanitarian needs of the civilians in Gaza.

In an intervention in the discussion, Mr Kombos welcomed the release of hostages made possible within the framework of the humanitarian truce agreement. He said the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas is imperative. He noted that the humanitarian truce will provide an opportunity for the uninterrupted provision of humanitarian aid to the civilian population in Gaza. In this context, he reiterated the readiness of the Republic of Cyprus to contribute to the delivering of humanitarian aid through our initiative to create a maritime corridor, facilitating the provision of humanitarian aid from Cyprus to Gaza.

On the sidelines of the Forum's proceedings, the Minister of Foreign Affairs held a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts, during which issues of common interest at both bilateral and regional levels were discussed. In particular, Mr. Kombos met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lebanon, Mr Abdallah Bou Habib, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Jordan, Mr. Ayman Safadi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Mr. Sameh Shoukry, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.

(ASP/IA)