FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE – France is Cyprus’s most important partner within the European Union, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said Thursday during a meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot at the Presidential Palace.
Christodoulides welcomed France’s “more active involvement” in discussions surrounding the Cyprus issue and expressed his appreciation for French President Emmanuel Macron’s intervention during the recent meeting in New York.
He said the Cyprus issue and the country’s upcoming presidency of the Council of the European Union would be key topics in his talks with Barrot. On a bilateral level, Christodoulides said he looked forward to welcoming Macron to Cyprus for the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement, noting that several technical matters would also be addressed during the visit.
Barrot, for his part, expressed France’s solidarity with Cyprus following recent wildfires in the Limassol district. He said he was eager to finalize the strategic agreement between the two presidents.
The French minister added that Cyprus’s EU presidency would be “an opportunity to advance our shared vision for the European Union, security, prosperity, and democracy,” and called it a pivotal moment for Cyprus to shape Europe’s relationship with the Middle East and Asia, describing the island as “Europe’s gateway to the region.”