THE UNITED Arab Emirates and Cyprus have an opportunity to strengthen ties in tourism, renewable energy and port management, said UAE’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan yesterday.

During an official visit to the island, Sheikh Abdullah and his Cypriot counterpart Marcos Kyprianou signed a deal on visa exemptions for holders of diplomatic, special and service passports, as well as a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral political consultations between the two ministries.

The UAE minister noted that relations between the two countries were “developing rapidly” and thanked the Cyprus government for “facilitating an effort towards building bridges between the rest of the world and the Palestinians living in Gaza”

Sheikh Abdullah called on the EU to support Cyprus in realising its “important initiative” to use the island to transport humanitarian aid directed for Gaza, noting this would also give the Palestinian Authority a broader role in Gaza.

The minister, who also met with President Demetris Christofias and House President Marios Garoyian, said the UAE was keen to explore opportunities to strengthen ties with Cyprus, in areas such as tourism, renewable energy, increased trade and port management.

“The UAE has companies which manage ports in over 50 ports around the world so we would love to have the opportunity to do something here as well,” he said.

Sheikh Abdullah expressed interest in looking into further investments in Cyprus, saying he was certain “the opportunity here is vast”.

He thanked Cyprus for supporting the UAE’s quest to host the International Renewable Energy Agency and decision to ratify the agreement. Noting that 500 Cypriots lived in the UAE, he said his country was “delighted and honoured” by the government’s decision to open up an embassy in the UAE.

Kyprianou described relations between Cyprus and the UAE as “excellent”, saying that Cyprus looked forward to having a presence of the UAE in Cyprus as well.