Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides has welcomed the Israel-Lebanon agreement on the demarcation of their maritime zones, stressing the importance of mutually beneficial regional synergies to ensure the energy security of the wider neighborhood.
The Minister, who participated Thursday in the 7th Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Regional Forum and the 4th EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting that took place in Barcelona, spoke in his interventions among other things about migration flows, underlining the need to implement a policy of zero tolerance to its instrumentalization by some countries.
A press release by the Ministry says that discussions focused on the complications caused by the situation in Ukraine following the Russian invasion on the food sector as well as on the energy supply in the countries of the region and ways to address those problems.
The Ministers also exchanged views on the future of the new generation, focusing on the issues of research and innovation, the labor market and the socio-economic situation in the countries of the Southern Neighborhood.
In his interventions, Kasoulides focused on the further promotion of regional multilateralism, which has the potential to yield results at many levels, on food insecurity and its consequences, on migration flows, underlining the need to implement a policy of zero tolerance to its instrumentalization by some countries.
He also welcomed the Israel-Lebanon agreement on the demarcation of their maritime zones, stressing the importance of mutually beneficial regional synergies to ensure the energy security of the wider neighborhood.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs also pointed out the importance of strengthening the role of the new generation and women, regarding participation in entrepreneurship and the labor market as well as in the decision-making process.
In addition, he called for closer cooperation of the EU with the states of the Southern Neighborhood by making full use of the existing channels with the Arab League and the African Union.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the meetings, Kasoulides attended an informal working dinner given to his counterparts by Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares Bueno. He also held separate bilateral meetings, among others, with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Morocco, Nasser Bourita, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Jordan, Ayman Safadi and General Secretary of the Union for the Mediterranean, Nasser Kamel.
Kasoulides returns to Cyprus on Friday.
Source: Cyprus News Agency