President Nikos Christodoulides on Monday described his official visit to Israel over the weekend as “completely successful” covering issues including the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor and the Great Sea Interconnector.

The president spoke to journalists briefly going into a lunch hosted by the Lebanese ambassador to Cyprus. Also invited to the lunch were ambassadors of a number of Arab countries, according to a statement released later.

Christodoulides said the talks in Jerusalem covered defence, security and intelligence sharing.

“We decided some things with the Israeli prime minister, and soon more meetings will take place, both at a ministerial level as well as at my level,” he told reporters.

“Already implementation has begun of what we agreed yesterday.”

He did not elaborate on this.

On his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the president said that he raised the matter of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

“There was an effort undertaken by the Republic of Cyprus with the Amalthea initiative,” he recalled, adding: “We’re ready to start again. I raised the issue of unhindered humanitarian assistance to Gaza.”

Announcements on this could be coming soon, he added. Christodoulides said he discussed the same issue with the leader of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.

Israeli imposed a total blockade on all humanitarian and commercial goods going into Gaza about two months ago, as it continues its bombing campaign.

Regarding his discussions with the Israeli government on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (Imec) and the Great Sea Interconnector, the president appeared to be linking the two issues.

“There has been for some time an initiative supported by both the European Commission and by the United States, for the creation of an economic – to begin with – corridor from India, to the Middle East, and from there onto Europe.

“You realise that Cyprus is the gateway to Europe. This great effort includes both issues you asked me about,” he noted, alluding to the Imec and the interconnector.

The president moreover said these issues “touch upon what I have stated, regarding the priorities of the Cypriot presidency of the Council of the European Union”.

Cyprus will hold the rotating presidency of the Council in the first half of 2026.

The Imec is a planned economic corridor aiming to bolster economic development by fostering connectivity and economic integration between Asia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. It’s a proposed route from India to Europe through the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Greece.

The project was launched to bolster transportation and communication links between Europe and Asia through rail and shipping networks, and is seen as a counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

The project had been delayed due to the ongoing Israel–Hamas war.

Israel is understood to be very keen on promoting the project.

In September 2024, Israel’s Netanyahu called the corridor a “blessing” for the Middle East in his address to the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The United Arab Emirates, one of the nodes along the proposed economic corridor, recently gifted Cyprus a number of mobile desalination units to help deal with the drought here.

On Monday, Christodoulides spoke on the phone with the president of the UAE, conveying his thanks for the gesture.

The president told reporters that the Emirati government said that “this was the least they could do, considering their relations with the Republic of Cyprus and what Cyprus is doing for the region and specifically for that country (meaning the UAE) in the European Union”.

Meanwhile during the lunch held at the Nicosia residence of Lebanese ambassador Claude el Hajal, Christodoulides spoke on Cyprus’ “priorities” during its presidency of the Council of the European Union next year.

According to an official statement, the president told ambassadors that the aim “is for the EU to come closer to the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean”.

For her part, the Lebanese ambassador suggested that such meetings between the Cypriot president and ambassadors of Arab countries take place on a regular basis.