Press Releases

The Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Mr. Costas Kadis, had a meeting today with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Mr. Péter Szijjártó, who is on official visit to Cyprus. The meeting gave the opportunity to the Minsters to discuss issues of common interest and exchange views in the area of water resources management.

Mr. Kadis said that there are many areas of potential cooperation between Cyprus and Hungary  in the field of sustainable water management that could be beneficial for both countries. “Hungary may have expertise in water technologies that could be of great value for Cyprus. Cyprus, on her part, can also share its extensive experience in water management policies under water scarcity conditions”, he added. Referring to water scarcity, the Cypriot Minister of Environment stressed that it is not only a Mediterranean problem. “Climate change is projected to lead to major changes in water availability across Europe and recent trends show that water scarcity is spreading in northern Europe, while extreme events, such as droughts and floods are widely reported. We need to act beyond borders, in a spirit of cooperation and collaboration to address these challenges”, Mr. Kadis explained.

Mr. Szijjártó agreed that the two countries may gain a lot by sharing knowledge and experience. He highlighted that Hungary is among the leaders in the development of water technologies and that his country has a rich and diverse international presence, offering technological support related to urban and agricultural water projects. He also stressed that Hungary can offer financial solutions to private companies in Cyprus, thus encouraging the business to business cooperation between the two countries.

According to both Minsters, this cooperation opens up new prospects for their respective countries and they decided to establish a channel of direct communication, knowledge exchange and technology transfer in the field of water resources management, through a Memorandum of Understanding. The Memorandum of Understanding is expected to be drafted over the next few months and signed during the Budapest Water Summit that will be held in the Hungarian capital in October 2019.

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MKA/EP/II