The Gaza Board of Peace will convene a two-day summit in Cyprus on June 30 and July 1, Cypriot government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis has stated, while stressing that the Cypriot government is not directly involved in organising the event.
He said the Republic of Cyprus is neither an organiser nor a co-organiser of the event, Caliber.Az reports, citing CyprusMail.
According to him, the decision to hold the gathering in Cyprus reflects the country's growing international significance.
“The fact that this board’s administrative arm … has chosen our country, a country which has proven in practice how beneficial it is and how many initiatives it has undertaken, as well as the efficiency of those initiatives in terms of humanitarian support for the civilian population in Gaza, has its own high importance,” he noted.
Regarding participation, Letymbiotis said several officials are expected to attend, with some already requesting meetings with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos during their stay.
Commenting on US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace initiative, he added that Cyprus has supported the plan from the outset.
“I remind you that [President Nikos Christodoulides] participated in the first conference announcing this plan and had submitted a proposal of eight specific points based on [United States] President [Donald] Trump’s plan for the faster implementation of the reconstruction of Gaza,” he stressed.
Although the final list of participants has not been released, Israeli media reported that the summit will bring together members of the Board of Peace’s executive board, representatives of the Palestinian administrative committee for Gaza, and officials from the office of Nikolay Mladenov, the Bulgarian diplomat appointed by Trump as his special representative for Gaza.
Notable members of the executive board include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and World Bank President Ajay Banga.
By Bakhtiyar Abbasov
