Among the guests were Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum Karim Badawi, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General-elect Khaled El-Enany, and Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) CEO Ahmed Ghoneim.
In her address, Cypriot Ambassador Polly Ioannou highlighted the depth of relations between the two countries, describing them as a partnership “spanning over four millennia.”
“A warm welcome to all, with particular thanks to a good friend of Cyprus and our guest of honour tonight, Minister of Petroleum Karim Badawi, who just returned from Cyprus,” Ioannou said.
“I wish to also single out the presence of one more of the many special guests—the Director-General elect of UNESCO, Dr. Khaled El-Enany,” she added, offering “wholehearted congratulations on his well-deserved election.”
“At long last, Egypt, the home of the world’s oldest civilization, will steer the world’s leading organization on cultural cooperation. We wish you every success and pledge our support in your new mission.”
Marking the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Ioannou noted that “while this is an important milestone, the actual lifespan of Cypriot-Egyptian relations exceeds 4,000 years.”
Ambassador of Cyprus, Polly Ioannou, withthe CEO of the Grand Egyptian Museum, Ahmed Ghoneim
She said the two nations have long shared “strategic” ties, reflecting the “consistency and continuity” of their partnership since antiquity, as well as its “deeply rooted character, durability, and resilience.”
“In contemporary times, Cyprus and Egypt enjoyed cooperation and mutual support before Cyprus even became independent, and we are grateful to Egypt for supporting our decolonization,” she said, recalling that the Cypriot community in Egypt once numbered around 20,000 people.
“When Cyprus emerged into statehood in 1960, Egypt was one of the first countries it established diplomatic relations with, and Cairo was one of the first diplomatic missions we opened,” she added, noting the close partnership between then-leaders Archbishop Makarios III and Gamal Abdel Nasser.
Ioannou said that in today’s context, “Egypt and the European Union (EU)—whose closest member state to Egypt is Cyprus—have a strategic partnership,” pointing to the EU-Egypt Summit in Brussels. She emphasized that “it is one of Cyprus’ foreign policy priorities to bring Egypt closer to the EU and the EU closer to Egypt.”
“Cyprus and Egypt are allies, not because of opportunity, whether it be the natural gas cooperation we have, or the current alignment of any interests,” she said. “We are allies because we have laid, brick by brick, the solid foundations of our relations, and these foundations have stood the test of time.”
She added that the partnership rests on “equal partnership, respect for each other and for the rules-based international order,” and on “a unity of purpose in seeking peace in the eastern Mediterranean and beyond: peace in Cyprus, in Palestine, in Ukraine, in Sudan and in the tens of conflicts that are ongoing around the world.”
“Cyprus and Egypt have been brought together by geography,” Ioannou concluded. “While we never choose our neighbours, I would say that if we could choose our neighbours, we would choose Egypt.”
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