Sunday lunch for prince and president

PRESIDENT DEMETRIS Christofias will reportedly play host today to the Saudi Arabian royal billionaire currently holidaying with his entourage off the coast of Latchi in his 90-metre long luxury yacht.
According to yesterday’s Politis, Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal will travel by helicopter from his yacht anchored in the Chrysochous bay on the west of the island to Christofias’ more humble holiday abode in Kellaki in the Limassol district. The paper reported that Al-Waleed will make the trip also accompanied by a police helicopter.
Forbes magazine estimated Al-Waleed’s net worth at US$19.4 billion, making him the 19th richest man in the world. The Saudi prince is reported to have amassed his fortune through investments in real estate and the stock market.
Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou was yesterday unavailable for comment though, according to Politis, he had confirmed that the two men would meet today at around midday. It is not known whether the meet is simply a social call or related to potential investment opportunities in Cyprus.
The government has announced a series of high-profile investment deals in recent months, the latest being the decision by the Vitol Group, one of the world’s biggest independent energy trading companies, to build a €100 million state-of-the-art oil product terminal facility at Vassiliko. Following months of negotiations, another big announcement was Qatar’s plans to pump millions into the economy to build a luxury hotel and apartment complex in the heart of Nicosia.
The 55-year-old Al-Waleed reportedly arrived in Cyprus with his luxury yacht last Wednesday, anchoring offshore opposite the Anassa Hotel, after failing to fit his super yacht in Latchi harbour. Since then, local police have taken precautionary measures to safeguard him, in addition to the private security hired by the prince.
A police representative told the Sunday Mail that police were not letting people get too close to the Saudi royal and his entourage. He also confirmed that police boats were being used to cordon off the area around the yacht.
A local business owner said a special jetty had to be built on the beach to accommodate the 32-foot (10-metre) boat being used by the royals to get to and from the yacht, as well as using their private helicopter to commute from the yacht. 
He reportedly has an entourage of 40 people with him for a belated celebration of his birthday, which was in March.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.