The ministerial teleconference of the 3+1 format took place today, with the participation of the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Mr. Ioannis Kasoulides of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Nikos Dendias of Greece and Mr. Yair Lapid of Israel.
During the teleconference, the four Foreign Ministers exchanged views on the establishment of a "regional multilateralism" approach in the Eastern Mediterranean within the framework of a positive agenda, through the creation of cooperation programmes in the fields of Energy, Climate Change, the Blue Economy and Disaster Management.
They agreed to maintain the political momentum of the 3+1 format as well as to establish a political dialogue between the countries on various issues and policy areas. They also agreed to hold a physical meeting of the group in the autumn to assess the progress achieved in individual areas of cooperation.
At the end of the meeting, the 4 Ministers agreed to issue a joint statement reaffirming their common commitment to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean.
At the end of the meeting, the 4 Ministers agreed to issue a joint statement reaffirming their common commitment to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean.
At a critical time for Europe, the United States and the world, the Ministers reiterated their commitment to the 3+1 format and decided to intensify their cooperation in the fields of energy, economy, climate change, natural disaster response and the fight against terrorism, thus contributing to strengthening resilience, energy security and interconnectivity in the region. The four countries support and encourage additional initiatives such as the Negev Summit to promote cooperation in the region.
Foreign Ministers agreed to develop a roadmap with tangible political deliverables for the coming year ahead of the next meeting of the physically present format in the fall of 2022.
In his intervention, Mr.Kasoulides highlighted the need to maintain the political momentum in the 3+1 format through cooperation programmes in various areas. He stressed that no country is excluded in this network of cooperation, provided that there is respect for International Law and its individual aspects as well as the Law of the Sea. He informed about Cyprus' intention to host a ministerial meeting on blue economy issues, while on the issue of natural disaster response, he proposed the creation of a regional multinational hub for fire response.
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