MPs came together in Parliament this week at a meeting co-chaired by Theresa Villiers MP and Eric Pickles MP to express their support for Israel and Cyprus and discuss the bilateral relations between those two countries. The event was jointly hosted in the House of Commons by Conservative Friends of Cyprus and Conservative Friends of Israel.
The meeting was addressed by Cyprus High Commissioner, HE Euripides Evriviades, the Israeli Ambassador, HE Mark Regev, and Foreign Office Minister, Tobias Ellwood MP.
Mr Evriviades referred to the bilateral relations between the two Eastern Mediterranean countries as “vibrant” and “multi-tiered”. Ambassador Regev commented that the first joint event of the two Conservative Party organisations was an important occasion to reflect on the relationship between Israel and Cyprus as “two proud western democracies wanting to see a more stable, secure and prosperous Eastern Mediterranean.”
Speaking after the event, Theresa Villiers said “This meeting provided a valuable opportunity for Conservative MPs to focus on the very strong trilateral relationship between Israel, Cyprus and Britain. It was good to hear of the cooperation underway in areas such as security and trade. Everyone was very clear on the importance of maintaining these close links after the UK leaves the EU.”
“We had the opportunity to discuss the latest developments in the talks on Cyprus. We all hope that the recent setback will only be temporary and that progress towards a solution can continue. Today’s event has demonstrated the continuing support for Cyprus and Israel in Parliament.”
Cllr Jason Charalambous, Chairman of CFCyprus, said: “Together with CFI it was a great pleasure to host this historic first parliamentary meeting highlighting the close ties between Cyprus, Israel and the UK.
As two proud democracies in a turbulent region, the strong bilateral bond between Cyprus and Israel is worth celebrating and we look forward to future initiatives to highlight this important relationship"
Parliamentarians who attended the meeting included Martin Vickers, Graham Evans, Bob Blackman, Sheryll Murray, Sir Roger Gale, Lord Polak, Tobias Ellwood, John Howell OBE, Amanda Milling, Rt. Hon. Sir Eric Pickles, Will Quince, Michael Tomlinson, Baroness Redfern, Lord Gold of Westcliff-on-Sea, and Lord Shinkwin.