President, Saudi Crown Prince keen to boost bilateral ties

President Nicos Anastasiades and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia expressed a common will to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, during a meeting in Riyadh on Tuesday.

Anastasiades arrived at the palace in the early afternoon, where he was officially received by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

This was followed by a tete-a-tete meeting, after which dinner was hosted by the Prince.

During the meeting, Anastasiades discussed with the Prince the situation in Ukraine and how developments are taking shape on a global level as well as issues related to the current situation in the Cyprus issue and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Issues related to the energy sector such as the construction of the Eurasia Interconnector, and issues related to the strengthening of bilateral relations in all sectors were also discussed.

Both sides expressed their strong will to strengthen cooperation in tourism through the enhancement of connectivity between the two countries, while issues related to the investment opportunities provided by Cyprus and Saudi Arabia were also discussed.

Anastasiades extended an invitation to the Crown Prince to visit Cyprus, which was accepted by the Prince, who said his intention is to visit Cyprus as soon as possible.

The Crown Prince expressed his country’s thanks to Cyprus supporting Saudi Arabia’s hosting of Expo 2030.

The meeting reportedly took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere, “where the will to upgrade the relations between Cyprus and Saudi Arabia at a strategic level was expressed by both sides,” deputy government spokesman Niovi Parisinou said.

Also part of the delegation, Energy Minister Natasa Pilidou met Minister of Commerce of Saudi Arabia Majid bin Abdullah Al Qassabi and discussed ways of enhancing bilateral cooperation in a wide range of sectors, such as tourism, particularly conference tourism, investment in hotel units, investment funds and cooperation in financial and economic services.

The two also referred to a cooperation in the field of education, exchange of know-how in new technologies for renewable energy sources, as well as cooperation in the field of aquaculture and health.

Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides had a tête-à-tête meeting with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia Adel Al Jubeir.