President Nicos Christodoulides on Thursday acknowledged the significance of Cyprus’ invitation to the Middle East Summit in Cairo this Saturday, underlining the country’s potential role in the region during the current testing times.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a tourism conference in Nicosia, Christodoulides shared his thoughts on the upcoming summit called by the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

“The mere fact that Cyprus has been selected among the countries to be invited to such an important summit demonstrates the recognition of our role,” Christodoulides said.

“Cyprus maintains excellent relations with all neighbouring countries in the region, while being an EU member.”

He added that he also conveyed Cyprus’ role at the recent European Council meeting.

“There is a growing number of requests from countries to relocate their citizens through Cyprus,” Christodoulides said.

“However, the primary concern at the moment is how to address the crisis, which, if left unresolved, could escalate and have adverse effects on all parties involved.”