Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis delivered his speech at the 2nd Cyprus-Greece Business Forum in Nicosia.
Mitsotakis’ Speech
In recent years, Greece has recorded the largest reduction in debt and regained the trust of investors.
Fiscal stability is non-negotiable, and it has allowed us to attract investments.
We want Cypriot capital to participate in the recovery of the Greek economy.
We experimented with populism, lost five years, and after 2019, we began implementing the necessary reforms, unlike Cyprus.
The Intergovernmental Council mechanism provides a framework for cooperation that in one year has led to significant measurable results.
In Greece-Cyprus relations, national issues always dominated, but now we have a framework for cooperation worthy of the relationship between the two countries.
Closing
The excellent level of Greece-Cyprus relations is also reflected in the economic field. Cyprus has always been an important investment partner for Greece.
I express my admiration for the performance of the Cypriot economy; it is enviable.
Visit to Cyprus
Kyriakos Mitsotakis is in Cyprus today for the meeting of the Greece-Cyprus Intergovernmental Summit — the first session took place last November in Athens — as well as for the Tripartite Summit of Greece-Cyprus-Jordan.
Given the announcements from Israel about a “ceasefire” on the Lebanon front and amid growing concerns about the developments in the warfront in Ukraine, Mr. Mitsotakis will discuss all the developments with Nikos Christodoulides.
Five-Party Meeting
The summit, which will be chaired by the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic of Cyprus, is expected to discuss developments in the Cyprus issue, following the recent activity by the UN Secretary-General and the informal dinner between Mr. Christodoulides and Mr. Tatar under the UN Secretary-General in New York last October.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis will reiterate that for Greece, a solution to the Cyprus issue must be based on the UN framework and the Security Council’s decisions. It remains to be seen if, in the near future, a five-party meeting will follow, with the participation of Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, likely in the new year.
Cyprus in NATO
At the same time, the Cypriot request for NATO membership is also entering the equation, a plan that Nikos Christodoulides presented to US President Joe Biden a few weeks ago. Mr. Christodoulides knows that the plan is advanced and will provoke strong reactions from Turkey, but it clearly has Greek support.
During this period, Cyprus’s relations with the US are at one of their best historical points, with Washington having “lifted” restrictions on military exports to the island, and it remains to be seen if this status will become permanent. It is also noteworthy that just yesterday, Mr. Mitsotakis welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte to Athens.
Middle East
Following the completion of the second Greece-Cyprus Intergovernmental Conference, a Tripartite Summit between Greece, Cyprus, and Jordan will take place at a critical time for developments in the Middle East. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Nikos Christodoulides, and King Abdullah of Jordan are expected to send a message about the need for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East and the importance of trilateral cooperation for stability in the broader region. It is also worth noting that King Abdullah of Jordan participated in the MED9 Summit last October in Paphos.
