Political consultations between Secretaries General of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Israel, Greece and Cyprus

(Communicated by MFA Spokesperson’s Bureau)

The 2nd Trilateral Political Consultations at the level of Secretaries General of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Israel, Greece and Cyprus were held in Jerusalem on 16 December 2015 between Israeli MFA Director General, Ambassador Dore Gold, and his counterparts from Greece and Cyprus, Secretary General  Ambassador Dimitris Paraskevopoulos and Permanent Secretary Ambassador Alexandros Zenon, respectively.

The first Trilateral Political Consultations at the level of Secretaries General were held in Athens on 12 November 2014.

The three parties examined regional and international issues in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean in view of the importance that they attribute to their enhanced bilateral ties and the desire to formalize a trilateral regional partnership as a promoter of regional stability, security and cooperation.

The three parties focused on the prospects for cooperation in the fields of:

·         Energy Development

·         Immigration

·         Fighting Terrorism

·         Tourism

·         Environment

·         Water Management

·         Research and Technology

They also discussed the trilateral cooperation in a wide range of issues including search and rescue, civil protection, economic cooperation, shipping, health and medicine, education, agriculture and fisheries, conflict resolution, people-to-people contacts and culture. The discussions reflected the common will to enhance even further the partnership between Israel, Greece, and Cyprus in all fields.

The parties expressed concern for the proliferation of terrorism on a regional and global level and the challenges faced by the increased flow of immigrants.  The three sides condemned all terrorist actions and stressed the need for regional and international cooperation in confronting this threat.

Director General Ambassador Dore Gold reiterated the threats posed by the nuclear proliferation of Iran and its continued involvement in terrorism in the region and globally.

Secretary General Ambassador Paraskevopoulos, from his part, stressed the need to comprehensively address the crucial issue of current refugee flows from crisis regions and their humanitarian, social and financial implications, as well as their root causes. He also stressed the cardinal importance of all the states in the region to comply with agreed international norms and practices, behaving responsibly and constructively in order to promote regional stability and cooperation.

Permanent Secretary Ambassador Zenon briefed his counterparts on the negotiations process under the United Nations auspices aiming at a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus Problem, based on international law and the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.

The three parties agreed to further promote trilateral consultations and to expand their dialogue on all levels with the aim of promoting mutual interests and contributing to regional peace, stability, security and prosperity. They agreed to meet on a regular basis and to establish a trilateral steering committee on the level of senior officials level of the MFA`s to oversee the implementation of the issues discussed in the annual trilateral Secretaries General meetings. They noted that the Heads of State of Israel, Greece, and Cyprus intend to meet for their first Heads of State / Government Trilateral meeting in Nicosia, 28 January 2016.