President Nikos Christodoulides is due to meet former British prime minister Sir Tony Blair on Monday, amid renewed diplomatic efforts concerning the future governance and reconstruction of Gaza.

The presidency announced the meeting on Friday but did not provide further details on the agenda. Blair is on the board of the Gaza Board of Peace initiative, which is expected to hold meetings in Cyprus on June 30 and July 1.

Government officials have repeatedly stressed that Cyprus is not organising or co-organising the meetings and participates only in discussions relating to proposals for Gaza’s future administration and reconstruction.

Cyprus foreign ministry spokesman told the Cyprus Mail on Saturday that Cyprus is only involved “in the proposals concerning the plan for Gaza, which arise from the decisions of the United Nations Security Council and Resolution 2803”.

The Cypriot proposal is structured around six operational pillars and builds on the experience gained from the “Amalthea” initiative, (Cyprus initiative for a sea humanitarian aid corridor to Gaza) which operates through a bilateral security mechanism in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates and the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS).

The discussions come as international attention returns to Gaza following recent regional tensions. In a joint statement issued on Thursday after a ministerial meeting between the United States and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the “historic participation” of Gulf states in the Board of Peace and reaffirmed support for President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2803.

It remains unclear whether the main executive body of the Board of Peace, chaired by US President Donald Trump, will participate directly, or whether the meetings will instead involve the Gaza Executive Council and the National Committee for Gaza Administration (NCAG), the Palestinian technocratic body established as part of the post-war governance framework. 

However according to the Turkish news blog Yetkin Report, the discussions are expected to involve Blair and the High Representative for Gaza, former UN special coordinator Nikolay Mladenov, or representatives from their respective offices.

The publication also reported that Israeli businessman Yakir Gabay, who participates in the wider Gaza governance framework, or one of his representatives, could travel to Cyprus for meetings with Palestinian officials.

While no official confirmation has been issued regarding Israeli participation, the possibility of direct contacts between Israeli and Palestinian representatives would add further significance to the meetings being hosted on the island.

The Yetkin Report suggested that Cyprus was selected partly because of its logistical advantages and air connectivity, particularly for participants travelling from Israel and elsewhere in the region as Cyprus and Greece remain among the few countries in the eastern Mediterranean capable of facilitating such high-level regional contacts with relative ease.

The meetings have attracted particular attention in Turkey, which has confirmed it will not participate. Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli told the publication that the gathering in Cyprus should be viewed as a technical coordination meeting rather than a formal session of the broader Gaza Board of Peace framework. 

The timing of the Cyprus meetings is also notable, coming shortly before a Nato summit due to be held in Turkey next month, where regional security issues, including the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, developments in Iran and security in the eastern Mediterranean, are expected to feature prominently.

Blair, who has played various diplomatic and advisory roles in the Middle East over the past two decades, has been linked to the broader Board of Peace initiative established under the UN-backed framework for post-conflict governance in Gaza.