Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte hailed President Nikos Christodoulides’ visit to the Netherlands as “historic” when the pair met on Wednesday night.
He added that Christodoulides’ visit to the country coincides with the 20th anniversary of Cyprus’ accession to the European Union.
He said the Netherlands and Cyprus have “common views and strong cooperation in areas such as the economy, defence, migration, regional stability, and issues related to the European agenda.”
In addition, he thanked Christodoulides “for the assistance provided by Cyprus in evacuating Dutch nationals from the region” when violence began in and around Gaza in October last year.
He also “pointed out the very important role Cyprus played in the region,” and said it “underlines the importance of its initiative to create a sea corridor to provide aid to Gaza.”
Christodoulides pointed out that it has been 34 years since a Cypriot President last visited the Netherlands and said, “we have excellent bilateral relations; we agree on important issues both at an EU and international level.”
Touching on the matter of the Middle East, he said “Cyprus, as the closest EU member state to the region, is doing everything possible to help deal with the humanitarian crisis.”
After the meeting, Rutte hosted a working meal with Christodoulides.
Earlier, Christodoulides had met King Willem-Alexander at the Huis ten Bosch palace.
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