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The
President of the Republic had a meeting with the Prime Minister of the
Netherlands, yesterday |
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The President of the Republic,
Mr Nikos Christodoulides, and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mr Mark
Rutte, reaffirmed the excellent level of bilateral relations between Cyprus
and the Netherlands during their meeting in The Hague. President Christodoulides, who was on a working visit to the Netherlands, had a meeting with Prime Minister Rutte at 20:00 (Cyprus local time) yesterday at the official residence of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands in The Hague. While welcoming President
Christodoulides, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands said that this is a
historic visit, as it is the first visit by a President of the Republic after
so many years, noting that it takes place in just one year since he assumed
his duties as President of the Republic of Cyprus. He added that the visit of
President Christodoulides coincides with the 20th anniversary of Cyprus'
accession to the European Union (EU), noting that the two countries have
common views and strong cooperation in areas such as the economy, defence,
migration, regional stability and issues related to the European agenda. The Prime Minister of the
Netherlands thanked the President of the Republic for the assistance provided
by Cyprus in the evacuation of Dutch nationals from the region. He
highlighted the key role played by the Republic of Cyprus in the region and
also underlined the importance of the initiative of the Republic of Cyprus to
create a maritime corridor to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza. He added that they have much to
discuss both for the EU and the region. For his part, the President of
the Republic said that it has been 34 years since the last visit of a Cypriot
President to the Netherlands and added: "We have excellent bilateral
relations. We agree on important issues both at EU and international level." “I visit The Hague at an
important point in time, 20 years since the most significant development of
my country, following its establisment, its accession to the EU, whilst this
year also marks 50 years since the illegal Turkish invasion.”, President Christodoulides
said adding that “a few days ago, it was the second anniversary of another
illegal invasion, the Russian invasion of Ukraine." He also noted that in the
Middle East region we are witnessing another war and pointed out that
"Cyprus, as the closest EU member state in the region, is doing
everything possible to help address the humanitarian crisis". Following the tête-à-tête
meeting, Prime Minister Rutte hosted a working dinner in honour of the
President of the Republic. (MS/IA/NG) |
