President Nikos Christodoulides on Friday said Cyprus and Italy share a “common cultural identity”, as he met the country’s President Sergio Mattarella at Rome’s Quirinal Palace.
He made the comment with the pair set to jointly inaugurate a joint archaeological exhibition on the common culture of Cyprus and Italy, and added that the two countries have “longstanding ties”.
“I am visiting Italy at a very important time for my country, as since January 1, the Republic of Cyprus has undertaken the presidency of the Council of the European Union,” he said.
To this end, he said he wishes to “coordinate with the Italian government in our joint effort for a more autonomous union, more open to the world”.
He added that at the same time, he has set as a “high priority” the “strengthening” of Cyprus’ bilateral relations with Italy, and that to this end, he is “very pleased” that he and Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had earlier “agreed to work together to institutionalise our cooperation”.
Bilateral talks between Christodoulides and Mattarella were followed by expanded talks between the Cypriot and Italian delegations, and an official lunch held in Christodoulides’ honour.
Christodoulides had met Meloni on Thursday, and said after that meeting that it had been agreed that the two governments would draw up a “joint partnership document”.
“We want to strengthen our cooperation to address a series of common priorities which we have,” he said, adding that he and Meloni “fully agree that our countries, and also the EU, as part of a neighbourhood with challenges and significant opportunities, cannot remain mere spectators to developments”.
He said to this end that “we must take initiatives which produce substantial results”, before making reference to the planned new EU strategies for islands and coastal communities, with European Fisheries Commissioner Costas Kadis set to present the strategies this year.
Additionally, he said that he and Meloni are in “close contact” regarding matters such as migration and competitiveness, and that both governments “approach” the issues “with the same seriousness”.
Meloni, meanwhile, had said that she and Christodoulides agree on “many issues on the European agenda”, and thanked Christodoulides for offering “innovative solutions” on the issue of migration.
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