Cyprus ready to ‘represent Egypt’ in Europe; says Cypriot parliament speaker

Cyprus is ready to be an “ambassador” for Egypt with European bodies, the speaker of Cyprus’ parliament said during visiting Cairo Tuesday.

“As a member state in the European Parliament…Cyprus is ready to be the representative of Egypt and its ambassador in European organisations,” Yiannakis Omirou was quoted as saying by Egypt’s state news agency MENA.

“We have informed the Egyptian side to notify us of Egyptian stances to assist in the European Parliament or any other organisation,” as part of efforts to bolster stability in the region, he told reporters on Tuesday.

During his stay in Cairo, Omirou met with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry as well the speaker of Egypt’s parliament, Ali Abdel-Al.

The two speakers signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation between the two parliaments.

The senior parliamentarian praised Egyptian-Cypriot cooperation in combating terrorism, energy and tourism.

Omirou is the first speaker of a European parliament to visit Egypt since the country’s current chamber convened in January.

The speaker of the US’s House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, visited Cairo last week and met with Abdel-Al as well as President al-Sisi.

Egypt is due to host a fourth round of the trilateral summit between Cyprus, Greece and Egypt in June to discuss cooperationin the fields of energy, tourism and agriculture.

Prior three-way summit meetings were held in Athens, Cairo and Nicosia.

Source: Ahram Online