Foreign ministers from Greece, Cyprus and Egypt held a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said that amongst issues discussed was the tripartite meeting to be held in Athens. During the event, Kotzias extended an invitation to both Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukrik and Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kassoulides to visit Athens on October 18-20 for the conference on the protection of populations of the Middle East.

“We care for the welfare of our people, the stability and stabilization of the region, the fight against extremism, protecting the communities existing throughout the Middle East, both cultural and religious ones,” said Kotzias.

On his part, Kassoulides said, “We had a substantial discussion on issues concerning our region, the relations of Egypt with the EU, the issue of Syria, terrorism and refugees. We also discussed the situation in Libya.”

Shukrik said that they discussed political, economic and social issues, relating to the tightening their countries’ bonds while addressing the challenges related to conflicts in the region.