Cyprus and Greece are aiming to strengthen bilateral cooperation on important environmental policies with the aim of promoting sustainable practices and actions.

Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou, and her Greek counterpart Theodoros Skylakakis discussed how this could be accomplished during a meeting on Tuesday in Athens on the sidelines of the 9th International Oceans Conference. Also present at the meeting were other Cypriot and Greek officials.

The bilateral meeting focused on concrete joint actions on urban waste management and other challenges such as improving recycling systems.

The importance of protecting Natura 2000 areas was also discussed with an emphasis on the institutionalisation of decrees to define the objectives of conservation and integrated management of these areas.

Speaking after the meeting, the two ministers underlined the will to strengthen their bilateral cooperation for the implementation of sustainable solutions aimed at protecting the environment.