Egypt, Cyprus have historical, strong relations: Sisi

CAIRO – 20 November 2017: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi affirmed during a press conference with his Cypriot counterpart Nicos Anastasiades on Monday that he is looking to boost the relations and cooperation between the two countries.

Sisi described the relations between Egypt and Cyprus as strong and historical.

During his speech, Sisi thanked Anastasiades for his country’s previous stances that have always been supportive of Egypt.

“Thank you for all of your previous stances that have been supportive of us, and we are looking to enhance and develop our mutual relations, especially in the economic and cultural fields,” Sisi stated.

Sisi also praised the efforts that Anastasiades exerted to develop his country in all different fields and aspects. "The whole international world admires your efforts," Sisi said, addressing his Cypriot counterpart.

He also added that he is looking forward to participating in the fifth Egyptian-Greek-Cypriot tripartite summit on Tuesday and hopes to reach positive results through the anticipated negotiations.

Sisi referred to the promising cooperation between the two countries in the energy field, which is one of the most important aspects that needs to witness further research and attention.

From his side, Anastasiades described Sisi as "his friend," adding that he is looking to boost the two countries' relations and cooperation.

President Sisi and Anastasiades exchanged their highest state honors and witnessed the signing of a number of cooperation agreements during the Egyptian president’s first official visit to Nicosia on Monday.

In his speech, President Sisi thanked his counterpart for the Order of Makarios III, which is the highest medal of honor in Cyprus. On the other hand, Sisi granted Nicos the Order of the Nile, which is Egypt's highest state honor.

Foreign ministers of both countries signed a number of agreements in different fields, including memoranda of understanding in health affairs, security issues and communications.

During his two-day visit, Sisi is expected to hold separate meetings with Anastasiades and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

He is scheduled to participate in the fifth Egyptian-Greek-Cypriot tripartite summit on Tuesday. Several topics are expected to be discussed during the summit, including coordination between the three countries, as well as enhancing their relations in the political, economic, trade, security and tourism fields.

The first tripartite summit between Egypt, Greece and Cyprus was held for the first time in Cairo in 2014, and then in Nicosia in April 2015. The third summit was in Athens and the fourth was in Cairo in 2016.