Christodoulides and King of Jordan discuss ways to de-escelate Middle East conflict

On the occasion of King Abdullah of Jordan and Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah' presence in Cyprus for the MED9 meeting in Paphos, the King and President Nikos Christodoulides took the opportunity to discuss ways to de-escalate the current situation in the Middle East.

According to the Government Spokesman, during the MED9 meeting, on the Cypriot side the issue of climate change and the reactivation of the Cypriot initiative for the Eastern Mediterranean will be raised.

Also, focus is expected to be put on competitiveness, which is also on the agenda of the European Council that will meet next week and is a dominant issue in the EU during this time. "Within this context, the President will highlight the importance of significant investments and the reduction of dependencies, with the aim of making the European Union more competitive, as well as the need to strengthen the European defense industry, in order to achieve more strategic autonomy of the European Union," Konstantinos Letymbiotis said.

Particular importance is attached, however, to the first part of the meeting, in which King Abdullah of Jordan will participate, together with Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah.

According to sources, King Abdullah intends to make a detailed presentation to the leaders of the Mediterranean countries, in which he will refer to the extremely disturbing events unfolding in our neighborhood, in which Jordan has a leading diplomatic role. He will also analyse his thoughts, concerns and suggestions on what needs to be done to achieve de-escalation and end the crisis spilling over into Lebanon as well.

Apart from the issues arising from the hostilities in the region, the presence of the Jordanian royal family at the summit of nine European states provides an opportunity to discuss EU-Jordan relations in depth and further strengthening cooperation.

Among other things, the Cypriot-Jordanian initiative for the creation of a regional forest firefighting centre, based in Cyprus, is expected to be discussed, so that there is a permanent presence of aircraft that can intervene directly in the region.