President Nikos Christodoulides and Jordanian King Abdullah II on Monday discussed the prospect of closer relations between the Hashemite kingdom and the European Union, as they met in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations general assembly.

According to government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis, “particular emphasis was placed on the Republic of Cyprus’ steadfast and consistent support, within the European Union, for the further strengthening of relations between the EU and Jordan”.

“In this context, the president referred to the strategic and comprehensive partnership established in 2025 – an initiative Cyprus actively supported and worked towards – as a significant milestone which creates strong foundations for the further deepening of cooperation,” he said.

He added that it was “in the same spirit” that the Cypriot government invited Jordan to be represented on the sidelines of the informal European Council summit which was held in Nicosia in April.

“At the bilateral level, the two leaders reaffirmed their shared commitment to further deepening cooperation in areas of common interest and mutual benefit,” he said, before adding that Christodoulides expressed “special gratitude” to King Abdullah “for making two firefighting aircraft and their crews available to assist Cyprus” this summer.

On this front, he said that “cooperation in the field of civil protection, particularly through the development of the Cyprus regional aerial firefighting station, stands as one of the most tangible examples of the dynamic nature of bilateral relations”.

He also said that the two leaders had “reviewed the trilateral cooperation between Cyprus, Greece, and Jordan”, following a trilateral summit involving both leaders and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Amman in May.

Additionally, he said the pair had discussed the ‘India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor’ (Imec), which he described as “a tool to enhance regional connectivity and resilience”.

He said that Christodoulides had also briefed King Abdullah “on the latest developments regarding the Cyprus problem and the ongoing efforts to resume substantive negotiations from where they had left off, based on the agreed framework and relevant UN security council resolutions”.

“President Christodoulides expressed his warm thanks for Jordan’s longstanding and consistent principled stance on the Cyprus issue,” he said.