Kasoulides flying to Brussels for ministerial meeting

Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides will fly to Brussels on Sunday to participate in the EU’s foreign ministers meeting scheduled for Monday.

It will be his first since being appointed foreign minister earlier this month.

Kasoulides will also hold meetings with the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, the enlargement commissioner Olivé Várhelyi and health commissioner Stella Kyriakidou, a foreign ministry statement said.

The ministry added that the discussions will focus on the current situation in Syria and Libya, developments in Eastern Europe, as well as other regional and international matters.

Before the start of the meeting on Monday, Kasoulides will have a working breakfast with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah.

The sides are expected to exchange views on EU-Kuwait relations, as well as on EU-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) relations, in the context of the upcoming EU-GCC ministerial meeting in February.

On Tuesday, Kasoulides will take part in the work of the EU General Affairs Council.

The council’s agenda includes the presentation of the French presidency’s priorities, as well as the efforts being made to strengthen democracy and safeguard electoral processes.

In addition, the council will also discuss the Conference on the Future of Europe, pandemic management coordination, as well as the latest developments in EU-UK relations.

Kasoulides is scheduled to return to Cyprus on Wednesday.

On Friday, Kasoulides had telephone conversations with his counterparts from Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

He also hosted the High Commissioner of India at the foreign ministry in Nicosia.