Deep-lomacy #4

The multifaceted Cyprus – Israel partnership, A message from
H.E Thessalia Salina Shambos, Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the state of Israel:

Most of you may already be aware of the multifaceted Cyprus – Israel partnership that has been growing stronger. During the last few years, we have built on our common values, mapped opportunities, identified shared interests, and united our respective strengths. We successfully embarked in joint projects on a bilateral and trilateral level with Greece, and more diversely, within synergies in the 3+1 context with the US, but also on regional platforms of cooperation like the Egypt -led EMGF. All these formats enjoy wide support for their positive potential, as practical examples of geostrategic merit that contribute to the stability and prosperity quotient of our region. Likewise, we have identified the possibility of including other countries in our neighborhood in these formats, countries that share our common vision that peace, stability and security is a most valuable strategic asset. A fitting example of our partnership is our collaboration in the East-Med pipeline project, which represents a viable and strategic choice shared interest, allowing natural gas transfer from the Israel and Cyprus, through Greece, to the rest of Europe.

Indeed, these are not easy times in our region. We know this as friends and partners. Regretfully, even during the pandemic, we were faced with terrorism, revisionist ambitions and outright belligerence that pose a serious threat to the fragile dynamics of our entire area.

Our partnership entails a high degree of “immediacy” and it's guiding principle has always been nothing other than “a friend close by is better than a relative faraway". The COVID19 pandemic has highlighted how quickly the reflex of our bilateral cooperation works. On this novel war terrain our alliance grew stronger. The reason for this is simple: The strength of our partnership lies on the common values and shared interests, elements that bring us together. This was paramount during the last few months. Here we were, fighting on uncharted war terrain as we naturally turned to each other, identifying opportunities for joint action, which assisted us to effectively address some of the ripple effects of CV19, in Cyprus, Israel and beyond.

Our collaboration during the pandemic has been for me personally, as the Ambassador of Cyprus in Israel for the last five years, the vivid epitome of our affinity towards each other, of our commitment to overcome these times of challenge, together and more resilient than ever before. Being fully cognizant that no country can beat this war by itself, made the diverse nexus of the Cyprus - Israel synergies even more important in fighting the pandemic.

It was not surprising that making the most of this immediacy and of our evident geographic proximity, Cypriots and Israelis were from very early on in a position to identify a plethora of opportunities for partnership to battle COVID19. From the very beginning we took part in a Task Force of health experts from several countries that Israel initiated, and groups of our key - clinicians institutionalized a method of exchanging knowledge and best practices on treating COVID19 cases, while our key epidemiologists teamed up to share relevant data on the development of virus early detection applications. Cyprus also supplied Israel with large numbers of generic Chloroquinone manufactured by Cypriot pharmaceuticals and we proceeded with the purchase of medical equipment from Israel. Likewise, direct communication between Cyprus' President, Nicos Anastasiades, with both President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regularly took place in the last few months.

For the end of June, we had even planned in Jerusalem what would have been the 14th meeting of President Anastasiades with Prime Minister Netanyahu in the last 5 years, coupled with parallel ministerial meetings on Energy, Foreign Affairs, Defense and Tourism. Though this “jumbo” visit had to be postponed, due to the unfortunate steep spike in COVID 19 cases in Israel, we did manage to hold a very productive half a day meeting between our Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Christodoulides and Ashkenazi, with all discussions taking place at the Ben Gurion airport, where Minister Christodoulides arrived by a Cyprus Air Force helicopter. This very fact is proof in itself of the close distance between our two countries that in fact share a common sea border.

All in all, and despite the challenge of not being able to meet in person as regularly as used to, we managed, through high tech applications and on- line communication tools, to ensure a good level of remote contacts for a number of ongoing projects of collaboration, and in keeping momentum within our pillars of compact cooperation such as in energy, defense, communications, cyber, culture, tourism, entrepreneurship and innovation, academic cooperation, emergency response, environment, joint youth diaspora projects and crisis management and, by extrapolation, in tackling a pandemic of colossal proportions.

Looking back in the last five months it would not a hyperbole to admit that handling the COVID 19 pandemic, in some respects, has shed light on some new vistas of potentially worthy cooperation. The need to face together, and in an interoperable way, this health crisis of ecumenical proportions has strengthened our resolute to focus on how to best collaborate as reliable partners against challenges that we identify as common, in whatever shape or form. And that is of prime importance for generating security and stability in our volatile neighborhood.

It goes without saying that Cyprus as a close neighbor and as a close ally of Israel, continues and shall continue to work towards strengthening this geopolitically important partnership, in the known spirit of unwavering camaraderie that connects our two countries and our peoples.

​I assure you that as soon as we jointly manage to effectively keep at bay this destructive health threat, neighboring Cyprus, which last year welcomed 400,000 tourists from Israel who took the 40 minutes flight, will await each one of you and your loved ones, for a much deserved, short and safe break, with open arms.