The Cyprus problem and bilateral relations on the agenda of the three-day visit
Anastasiades gets down to business with Lebanon
President Nicos Anastasiades will meet with the President of Lebanon Michel Aoun on Monday with the two men set to discuss a range of issues including regional matters and EU-Lebanon relations.
Other issues to be discussed during his three-day visit include the Cyprus problem and bilateral relations between the two countries.
Cyprus and Lebabon have had bilateral relations since 1960 and are both members of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) – an intergovernmental organisation of 43 countries from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin.
The two nations have bilateral agreements on trade, the transferring of sentenced persons, an agreement on the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments, cooperation in the Fields of Public Health and Medical Science as well as cooperation in Combating the Illicit Use of and Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and Organised Crime.
Agreements on tourism and the avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital have also been achieved in the past.
Lebanon has lagged behind neighbouring Israel, Cyprus and Egypt in developing oil and gas deposits that may lie beneath its share of the Mediterranean Sea.
Three years ago, former Energy Minister Gebran Bassil said seismic surveys showed the country could hold at least 96 trillion cubic feet of gas and 850 million barrels of oil. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Eni SpA are among companies qualified to bid to explore off the country’s coast.
During his stay in nearby Beirut, Anastasiades will also meet with the Patriarch of Maronites Bechara Butros Rai, the Grand Mufti of Lebanon Sheikh Abdel-Latif Derian, the Patriarch of Antioch and All East John and the Patriarch of Armenians Aram.
He will also meet with the House Speaker Nabih Berri and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri while he will also attend a business forum organised by the Chambers of Commerce of Cyprus and Lebanon.
A delegation comprised of Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis and Government Spokesperson Nikos Christodoulides will accompany the President to Lebanon.
