Israel’s Ambassador Shmuel Revel said his country’s relations with Cyprus have been very good and it is his country’s ambition to deepen them even further.
Revel made the remark after meeting President of the Citizens’ Alliance Yiorgos Lillikas, who said that both countries need to further cooperate in research and innovation.
In his remarks, Revel said he had a good discussion with Lillikas during which they discussed regional issues as well as bilateral relations between Israel and Cyprus.
He said “Israel and Cyprus are two functioning democracies in a region where there are many challenges. We are facing forces of extremism and terrorism. Some countries also in the region support these extremist and terrorist forces and it is in our own interest Israel and Cyprus to further deepen our relations and our cooperation in order for our vision for a more secure, more stable a more prosperous region for this vision to be realised”.
On the bilateral relations, he said “we have very good relations” and it “is our ambition to deepen them even further”.
Revel said there are great opportunities, in the energy and national gas reserves, as well as “great opportunities in the field of tourism”, noting that last year there were 260 thousand Israeli tourists coming to Cyprus and that he expects this year to have many more.
“We have to deepen cooperation in research and scientific cooperation. We need to find common solutions to water, environment, health issues. This is important for our economies but it is also important for the future generation”, said Revel.
He also remarked that the future generation is very much inspired by the relationship between Cyprus and Israel and all the opportunities it can bring it in order to improve the condition of life, the environment in the Mediterranean region and to ensure more prosperity for the future.
On his part, Lillikas said they discussed the bilateral relations and the cooperation as it is evolving in the framework of the tripartite cooperation with Greece. They also discussed the big challenges in the region and the need to find solutions that will bring peace, stability and security in the region.
“Solutions in which Cyprus, as an EU member state, can contribute,” he remarked, bearing in mind that Cyprus is the only EU state that can develop initiatives, in cooperation with Israel, in research and innovation.
