House ratifies deal with Israel on info sharing

Parliament on Thursday ratified an inter-state agreement between Cyprus and Israel on the sharing and non-disclosure of confidential information on hydrocarbons discovered in offshore block 12 of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the adjacent Ishai offshore licence within Israel’s EEZ.

The agreement was signed by the two governments in Nicosia on April 28. At the plenum on Thursday, government officials informed MPs that the agreement came about as part of ongoing broader negotiations between the two countries for a unitization deal paving the way for exploitation of cross-border natural gas and oil reserves.

During the unitization talks, the need arose for an agreement to share information on hydrocarbons in Block 12 and the Ishai license, the officials said.

Meanwhile the government announced this week the upcoming visit to the island by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The precise date of the visit is to be announced.

 

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.