Not much was made of a comment by President Nikos Christodoulides while addressing a business conference in Limassol. He had told his audience that in September 2023 he had “a very inspiring meeting” with Blair Sheppard, a global expert in strategy and leadership, and he agreed to work with the government “to create a new narrative for Cyprus”. Before this, and after sanctions were imposed on two Cyprus-based companies closely linked with sanctioned Russian oligarchs, Christodoulides had said that Cyprus’ image was in dire need of rebranding.

He was referring to the poor international reputation of Cyprus as a money-laundering centre for Russians, a facilitator for sanctions-busting and a seller of EU passports to businessmen with a dubious background. There were countless reports in the international media over the years about this role played by Cyprus which came under pressure both from Brussels and Washington to clean up its act. Christodoulides showed his commitment to just that by asking for help in effectively tackling money-laundering and sanctions violations from both the US and UK governments. They both agreed to provide assistance and sent their experts to give advice on tightening regulations and supervision.

This was the first part of the rebranding. The second part was the creation of a new narrative. We do not know whether Blair Sheppard was eventually hired by the president, but what is clear is that the government has been successfully promoting a new Cyprus narrative for the last year or so. It has even developed slogans to support this such as ‘Cyprus is not part of the problem but part of the solution’; ‘Cyprus is a pillar of regional peace and stability’; ‘Cyprus has a strategic role to play in the eastern Mediterranean’; ‘a bridge of peace and cooperation’. The initiative for the Amalthea, the humanitarian sea corridor, through which aid was sent on a few occasions to Gaza, could have helped this rebranding strategy and earned Christodoulides plaudits from the US administration.

Cyprus’ international rehabilitation has also been assisted by Christodoulides’ decision to cut links with Russia and take Cyprus into the Western camp while pursuing much stronger ties with the United States. For this choice, he has been accused by opposition parties like Akel of putting Cyprus’ interests at risk to keep Washington happy, but this has been a boon to the new narrative. Cyprus was no longer viewed as a disreputable EU state used by Russian oligarchs for money laundering but became a dependable ally of the West that could be relied on to work closely with the US in the region. This new, clean profile – combined with island’s well-marketed ‘peace and stability’ mantra – has had other benefits as it has also attracted foreign businesses and investors to Cyprus.

The rebranding has been a resounding success, the only reservation being that the president might be getting carried away by the new narrative he has created for Cyprus, presenting it (and particularly himself) as an influential player in the Middle East. Neither Cyprus nor its president can take on such a role, because of the country’s tiny size which drastically limits its influence. Christodoulides can have telephone conversations with leaders of neighbouring countries about the situation Gaza and more recently about that in Syria, but he does not have the power – military, economic – or the population to influence decisions.

Cyprus can only ever be a bit-player in international events affecting global security, at best it is a venue for meetings and the president a channel of communication. There is nothing wrong with this as every country has to accept its limits placed on it by hard reality. But the island has the geographic location – close to one of the most unstable regions in the world – a location that makes Cyprus more important to big powers than its tiny size would have justified. Christodoulides, to his credit, recognised that he should exploit this proximity to the Middle East and did so as soon as the war in Gaza started, not only offering evacuation facilities to all countries, but also providing facilities and support to the US while also working closely with the British bases. At home he has been accused of putting Cyprus at risk by turning it into a staging post for Western military operations in the Middle East, but the upside – Cyprus becoming a reliable Western ally – outweighed these concerns.

There has been a tendency by the government to overplay the island’s influence in Middle East affairs, but this is mainly targeted at the domestic audience. Then again, the president of Israel and the foreign minister of the UAE were both at the presidential palace on Thursday for a meeting, backing the narrative of Cyprus as a ‘bridge of peace and cooperation’. We doubt Cyprus could help broker a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of the Israeli hostages, as the deputy government spokesman suggested on Friday, but it was good enough that it offered a venue where Israel’s president and UAE’s foreign minister could meet.

It all supports the new Cyprus brand of a country that is a trusted and dependable Western ally, always assisting initiatives for dialogue and cooperation in the region. Cyprus’ rebranding is now complete.