Cyprus foreign minister in Washington

Cyprus Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Christodoulides is on a working visit to Washington, where he will also meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday.

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According to the Cyprus News Agency, Christodoulides will meet on Monday with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as well with other US officials. The foreign minister is also addressing as keynote speaker a Southeast Europe & East Med Conference in Washington, a joint initiative of the Delphi Economic Forum and Kathimerini.

The meeting with Pompeo will take place on Monday 1pm local time (8pm Cyprus time) at the State Department. Pompeo invited Christodoulides to visit Washington one year after the signing of a statement of intent between the two countries.

Items on the agenda include bilateral relations, the Cyprus problem, the state of play in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as developments in the energy sector.

Apart from Pompeo, Christodoulides will hold separate meetings with Acting Assistant Secretary of European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker, Deputy Assistant Secretary Matthew Palmer and Assistant Secretary Francis Fannon, while he may also meet with the US President’s National Security Adviser Robert O' Brien.

Christodoulides will be the key note speaker at the Southeast Europe and & East Med Conference and will take part in a round table discussion on energy security in the Southeast Mediterranean along with Greek Minister for Development and Investment Adonis Georgiades, North Macedonia’s Deputy Prime Minister Koco Angjushef and the US Assistant Secretary Francis Fannon.

Other guests at the two-day conference, titled “New Strategies-New Perspectives” include US Trade Secretary Wilbur Ross, US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis R. Fannon, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip T. Reeker, Lieutenant Governor of California Eleni Kounalakis, Democratic Senator for Maryland Chris van Hollen.

According to Kathimerini Greece, the conference is aimed at boosting dialogue and the potential for cooperation between the US and countries in the Southeastern Europe and Eastern Mediterranean region. The agenda of the event will cover an array of topics, ranging from exploring strategic relationships to energy security and digital transformation according to the conference organizers.