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Abu Dhabi / WAM
Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, UAE Minister of State, and Nikos Christodoulides, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, on Wednesday convened the inaugural virtual meeting of the UAE-Cyprus Joint Committee.
In his remarks, Al Sayegh affirmed the strength of the two countries’ bilateral relationship, and pointed to the growing cooperation that the UAE and Cyprus have fostered over recent years. Al Sayegh made particular note of the significant expansion in bilateral economic ties, with non-oil trade between the UAE and Cyprus reaching $152 million in 2019, an increase of over 26 percent from the preceding year.
“Today is a momentous day in initiating the work of the UAE-Cyprus Joint Committee. While our bilateral relations have largely been distinguished by the high level of trade between our countries, the UAE seeks to widen its cooperation with Cyprus in a number of fields. We look forward to diverse opportunities for collaboration that will emerge as a result of the productive discussions to come,” Al Sayegh stated.
In meetings conducted in preparation for the first session of the Joint Committee, both sides discussed ways to expand cooperation across various key fields, including trade, investment, energy, education, culture, and tourism.
For his part, Christodoulides thanked the UAE for hosting the meeting and affirmed his government’s keenness to strengthen cooperation with the UAE, noting that the meeting enabled both sides to discuss key economic, cultural, and political issues of mutual interest.