Cyprus FM Kompos heads to New York with 35 bilateral meetings lined up
Foreign Minister Konstantinos Kompos will hold 35 confirmed bilateral talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, alongside at least five meetings with the President.
Foreign Minister Konstantinos Kompos will have a full schedule of contacts during his stay in New York next week for the UN General Assembly, according to diplomatic sources cited by the Cyprus News Agency (CYPE).
So far, 35 bilateral meetings with counterparts from UN member states have been confirmed, and Kompos will also take part in at least five meetings involving the President of the Republic, with the programme still being finalised.
The planned talks span several regions: African countries including Algeria, Morocco, Kenya, Botswana, Senegal, Rwanda, Mauritania and Tanzania; Middle Eastern states such as Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Lebanon; Central Asian countries including Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; and Asian partners India, the Philippines and the Maldives.
According to the same sources, the meetings reflect a geographical strategy that also takes into account the participation of several of these countries in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Turkic states of Central Asia.
On a Cypriot initiative, a high-level meeting of small European states will be co-organised with Andorra at the premises of Cyprus's permanent representation to the UN. The group includes Cyprus, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Monaco and San Marino, with cooperation among Europe's small states also covering the Council of Europe dimension and issues of property and missing persons.
Two trilateral meetings with Egypt and Jordan are also planned. Kompos will take part in a series of multilateral gatherings, including an informal EU Foreign Affairs Council with guests from Asian countries, a ministerial discussion on the Middle East chaired by Qatar's Foreign Minister and EU High Representative Kaja Kallas, ministerial meetings on the Middle East and the two-state solution and on sea level rise, and an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers with their CELAC counterparts.
The sources added that contacts have already taken place with two of the candidates to succeed Antonio Guterres as UN Secretary-General — the first during last year's General Assembly, and the second in a recent meeting between a government minister and the candidate. Further contacts with these or other candidates may follow at a social event in New York.
What it means for residents
The trip is unlikely to change daily life on the island in the short term, but the contacts it produces can shape decisions that eventually reach Cyprus — from regional diplomacy to EU positions on issues such as property and missing persons.
- Regional ties: Meetings with Middle Eastern and African states may open practical cooperation on migration, energy and trade that affects the island's economy.
- Small-state agenda: The joint push with Andorra and other small European states keeps Cyprus's property and missing persons issues on the Council of Europe agenda.
- UN leadership: Early contacts with candidates for the next UN Secretary-General give Cyprus a chance to raise its priorities before the post changes hands.
This text is written from the source article and is not a translation of it.
