Egypt looking forward to fourth round of talks with Cyprus and Greece

Cairo is looking forward to hosting the fourth round of the trilateral summit between Cyprus, Greece and Egypt to discuss cooperation and carrying out projects in different fields, the presidency said in a statement on Tuesday following a meeting between President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Cypriot parliament speaker Yiannakis Omirou.

“El-Sisi assured the speaker that the cooperation [displayed] between both countries when an Egyptian airliner was hijacked [and diverted to] Cyprus reflected the strength of the relationship,” the statement said.

Last month, EgyptAir flight 181 was hijacked by an Egyptian citizen who forced the plane, which was heading from Alexandria to Cairo, to land in Larnaca Airport in Cyprus.

Cypriot authorities handled with the hostage situation that followed until the hijacker surrendered himself.

In March, Egypt’s defence minister Sedki Sobhi and his Cypriot counterpart Christophoros Fokaides signed a joint military cooperation agreement on fighting terrorism and combating the immigration crisis.

In three-way summit meetings held in Athens, Cairo and Nicosia, the three countries held talks to establish maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, as well as cooperating in the fields of energy, tourism and agriculture.

source: Ahram online