Following is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement at the trilateral meeting, today (Thursday, 28 January 2016), in Nicosia, between Israel, Greece and Cyprus:
"I have to say that this is, Nikos, an unsurpassed pleasure. Your hospitality, your friendship is deeply appreciated, not only by me, but by everyone in Israel. And the fact that you hosted our dear friend, Alexis, and us, creates an unusual opportunity.
I confess to you that as a historian's son, I am always averse to using the term 'historic', naturally careful. But nevertheless I believe this meeting has historic implications. I said before that, when we were meeting, that the last time that Greeks, Cypriots and Jews sat around the table and talked on a common framework was about 2,000 years ago. So, it's historic in that sense, but I think it's historic for another reason.
We're living through a great turbulent passage in history, in modern times, and we face unprecedented challenges, but also unprecedented opportunities to advance our common goals. When I say our common goals, first I have to say that we have common values. We are three democracies in the Eastern Mediterranean. There are not too many around here. But we share the ideas of pluralism, diversity, choice, debate - democracies. And that forms an immediate bond of friendship.
But I think there is an even wider circle of states in the region that seek what we seek in terms of common interests: stability, security, prosperity and peace. These are momentous goals, and by working together we can advance, we can advance them more effectively than by working separately.
We discussed a number of opportunities for cooperation in very practical ways. The first one is gas. We've been blessed, as you said, with natural gas in the sea. We decided to explore this in a very audacious way: to form a trilateral committee between Greece, Cyprus and Israel, to plan the possibility of a pipeline that would take our common resources of gas and export them to Europe via Greece - a pipeline from Israel, Cyprus through Greece to Europe. This is an audacious plan which goes alongside with our other plans vis-à-vis the exploitation of this energy resource.
The second thing that we are embarking on is creating an interconnected underwater cable to connect the electricity grids of Israel, Cyprus and later on Greece, to have a common electric grid. This for us is a great change. For you too, and I think it strengthens very much Greece's energy market as well, energy situation as well. These are two practical things that we are moving. By the way, they are connected because you can also export gas through electricity that empowers the electrical system.
We discussed the advances in water, how we can increase the efficiency of our water management, agriculture, tourism, technology, hi-tech ventures including in the field of cyber, and of course the question of emergency services, which we in Israel have already enjoyed because of the support of Cyprus and Greece in fighting fires. We can do a lot more with our current capabilities and our future capabilities - firefighting, search and rescue and the like. And the endemic problem of security and fighting terrorism. These are all areas - among others - that we are cooperating in. I think we can pledge that our trilateral cooperation will help bring the blessings of progress not only to the citizens of our three democracies, but also perhaps to the wider region by again helping stability, security, prosperity and God help us also, bring peace to you and to us. Thank you."
Cyprus-Israel-Greece Trilateral Summit Declaration
Following is the text of the Cyprus-Israel-Greece Trilateral Summit Declaration that was issued today (Thursday, 28 January 2018), in Nicosia:
"We, Nikos Anastasiades, President of the Republic of Cyprus, Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of the State of Israel, and Alexis Tsipras, Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic, having met in Nicosia today, 28th January 2016, have agreed to strengthen the cooperation between our three countries in order to promote a trilateral partnership in different fields of common interest and to work together towards promoting peace, stability, security and prosperity in the Mediterranean and the wider region.
In light of the underlying challenges and opportunities, and given the fluid and unstable situation in the region, our three countries, which share common democratic values, principles, and interests, have, to this end, agreed on the importance for closer cooperation and a coordinated set of policies.
Our partnership is not exclusive in design or nature, and we are ready to welcome other like-minded actors to join our efforts to promote coordination and cooperation, as well as regional peace and stability.
We agree to work closely together with a view to strengthening our cooperation on common projects, involving both public and private actors. In particular, we are examining practical means of cooperating and implementing joint projects and synergies in the fields of energy, tourism, research and technology, environment, water management, combating terrorism, and migration.
Furthermore, we are exploring potential collaboration in a wide array of other fields, including agriculture, forestation, joint fire-fighting efforts, environmental protection including marine pollution, joint emergency response to natural disasters, exchange of information in emergency situations, joint search and rescue exercises, health, management of epidemics, joint scientific projects, development of renewable energy technologies, education, communications and trilateral roaming agreements, and commercial shipping.
The discovery of important hydrocarbon reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean can serve as a catalyst for peace, stability and cooperation in the region. To this end, the three countries view the energy sector, and in particular, natural gas and renewable energy, as a solid foundation for cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean basin.
We consider that trilateral energy projects, such as the “EuroAsia Interconnector”, are of strategic importance as they will create a mutually beneficial relationship between the energy markets of Israel and Cyprus with those of continental Europe. In addition, we express our strong support to the export of Eastern Mediterranean gas to continental Europe. In this context, we reiterate our readiness to further explore projects such as the "EastMed Pipeline". We have agreed to work closely together promoting joint projects, which will enhance the security of energy supply. We invite neighbouring countries to explore possible synergies which can be implemented by working collectively on a regional basis.
Following the adoption of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, we reaffirm our commitment to explore avenues of cooperation in the sphere of renewable energy through joint green-tech programs, in particular in the fields of solar energy, energy efficiency, fuel options for transportation and smart grids.
In addition, the three countries acknowledge the importance of tourism and the vast potential for a comprehensive collaboration towards encouraging the influx of tourists to the region by offering joint packages, including cruises and religious, medical and other thematic tourism. We agree to explore ways of sharing information and know-how in order to support local small tourism businesses, joint initiatives and more. The three competent Ministers agree to meet and examine the various facets.
We remain steadfastly committed to working together towards the enhancement of the bilateral relations between the European Union and Israel in areas of mutual interest and concern.
We stress the importance of the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation for the countries of the region. On the occasion of the 21st anniversary of the Barcelona Declaration, we welcome the role the Union for the Mediterranean can play to this end, as reflected in the EU Joint Communication on the Review of the European Neighbourhood Policy of 18th November 2015.
We acknowledge the grave dangers posed by terrorism, both regionally and globally, and have agreed to continue joining forces with the international community to tackle this challenge. We strongly and unequivocally condemn all terrorist actions and call upon all States to confront this menace also through closer security cooperation. In light of the above, we have agreed to enhance our cooperation in this sphere by initiating trilateral dialogue between our competent Authorities. Efforts to curb the flow of foreign fighters, restrict financial and military support to terrorist groups, and counter extremist propaganda should intensify. Incitement to violence should be condemned and stopped.
On the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27th January, the leaders paid homage to those perished during the Holocaust and condemned without reserve all manifestations of religious intolerance, xenophobia, antisemitism, incitement, harassment or violence against persons or communities based on ethnic origin or religious belief, wherever they occur.
We underline our willingness to join efforts for the protection of antiquities and for the preservation and development of historical and archaeological sites, aiming at safeguarding the historical memory of our peoples and the common heritage of mankind, as well as our readiness to cooperate for the protection of underwater cultural heritage and to promote such cooperation with neighbouring countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The ongoing turmoil in our neighbourhood has triggered unprecedented migratory flows that pose a challenge that can be met only by multilateral action that addresses the conditions that created these migratory flows, through comprehensive and holistic planning and strategies. It should address ways to ending hostilities, eradicating poverty and improving livelihoods through development. We are also committed to combating smuggling of people and reiterate our readiness to contribute to efforts designed to address the humanitarian aspects of the unfolding refugee crisis, in close cooperation with all concerned countries and actors.
We express our full and unwavering support to the ongoing negotiation process, under the United Nations Good Office Mission, for a just, comprehensive and viable settlement of the Cyprus problem, based on international law and the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions. Such a solution, which will reunify the island, based on the respect of democratic principles, human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Cypriots, would not only benefit the people of Cyprus in its entirety, but also significantly contribute to the peace and stability of the region, through Cyprus' independent foreign policy.
The Governments express their hope that the resumption of negotiations of the MEPP will conclude in a just and lasting solution.
We are convinced of the strategic nature and necessity of our trilateral cooperation and will continue working closely in order to realize its full potential, to the benefit of our countries and peoples, and to the wider region.
In this regard, we endorse the establishment of a Trilateral Steering Committee, which held its first official meeting earlier today, and which is tasked with identifying priorities, as well as overseeing and coordinating the implementation of our joint projects.
The three leaders have agreed that the next trilateral Summit will be held in Israel in the second half of 2016."