Saudi minister makes historic visit to Cyprus

Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Ibrahim Bin Abdulaziz Al–Assaf, paid an official visit to Cyprus on Wednesday, the first ever in the history of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

A press release issued by the Foreign Ministry said that Cyprus Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides was to meet with his Saudi counterpart on Wednesday in Nicosia, adding that the two Ministers would have a tête-à-tête meeting to be followed by expanded talks with the participation of delegations, during which bilateral relations are expected to be reviewed and ways to further strengthen them will be examined.

There was also on the agenda an exchange of views on EU - Saudi Arabia relations, the situation in the wider Middle East and the Gulf region, and regional issues of mutual interest including energy and the effort to combat terrorism.

Christodoulides would also inform his counterpart about the latest developments in the Cyprus issue as well as the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Last week, President Nicos Anastasiades received the credentials of the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Khaled Mohammed Al Sharif, during a formal ceremony at the Presidential Palace on Thrusday.

The Saudi minister reached the island after heading the Kingdom's delegation to the ministerial meeting of the Arab Ministerial Quartet Committee on Monitoring the Crisis with Iran held in Cairo.

Last year, Christodoulides went on a working visit to Riyadh as relations and ties were being strengthened between the two countries.