The Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Mr. Yiorgos Lakkotrypis, held today a series of meetings during a one-day working visit to Amman, Jordan.
Mr. Lakkotrypis had separate meetings with the Prime Minister of Jordan, Dr. Abdullah Ensour, the Minister of Energy, Dr. Mohammad Hamed, the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Dr. Nidal Mardi Al Katamine, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Dr. Hatem Hafez Al Halawani, and with the leadership of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Amman.
At his meeting with the Prime Minister of Jordan, Mr. Lakkotrypis stressed that Cyprus and Jordan are pillars of stability and that their close cooperation is in the interest of both countries, as well as the wider region. He also expressed Cyprus' readiness to contribute to Jordan's efforts to strengthen its relations with the EU, and he also had the opportunity to inform about the efforts of the President of the Republic to solve the Cyprus problem.
On his part, the Jordanian Prime Minister referred to the great interest of his country in the further development of bilateral trade relations with Cyprus in all fields, with emphasis on cooperation in the energy sector and the potential supply of Jordan with Cypriot natural gas.
Subsequently, Mr. Lakkotrypis met with the Energy Minister of Jordan, with whom he discussed ways to strengthen cooperation between Cyprus and Jordan in the energy sector. The Jordanian Minister referred to his government's efforts for energy security, while Mr. Lakkotrypis expressed Cyprus' readiness to cooperate with Jordan in the areas of Renewable Energy and Natural Gas. The meeting concluded with the signing of a relevant Memorandum of Understanding.
At the meeting with the Jordanian Tourism Minister they discussed the need to upgrade the tourist relations between Cyprus and Jordan, by increasing the flow of tourists between the two countries. The opportunity to explore joint activities to attract tourism in both countries, since Cyprus and Jordan, as tourist destinations, have a complementary rather than a competitive relationship, was acknowledged.
At the meeting of Mr. Lakkotrypis with the Minister of Industry and Trade, the two ministers discussed ways to improve trade relations between the two countries, while the Cypriot Minister had the opportunity to brief his counterpart on the availability of Cypriot agricultural products that could be channeled to the Jordanian market.
Additionally, Mr. Lakkotrypis presented the opportunities offered for investment and business cooperation in Cyprus at an event organized in his honor by the Chamber of Commerce of Amman. He also referred to the issue of availability of Cypriot agricultural products, and the leadership of the Chamber expressed its intention to provide a list of Jordanian importers, which will be distributed to Cypriot exporters.