GREEK REPORTER
Cyprus and Lebanon Ratify Long-Awaited Maritime Border Deal
Cyprus and Lebanon officially signed a maritime demarcation agreement on Wednesday, concluding a long-pending issue and clearing the way for potential offshore energy exploration and cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The deal was signed at Lebanon’s presidential palace by Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
President Christodoulides hailed the pact as “a historical agreement,” confirming that it signals deeper collaboration between Lebanon, EU member Cyprus, and the wider European Union.
Speaking after the signing, Christodoulides described the deal as an “important and historic occasion” and a milestone of strategic importance, which seals, in the clearest way, the level of our relations.”
Cyprus and Lebanon “invest in strengthening trust”
He emphasized the broader regional message conveyed by the agreement:
“We are sending a strong, political message that Cyprus and Lebanon, on the basis of international law, relevant United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and of course good neighbourly relations, continue to invest in strengthening trust and mutual respect.”
The Cypriot President stressed that the agreement would benefit “Cypriots, Lebanese and the people of the region in general.” He concluded:
“We are bringing to an end a long-standing issue and are now looking to the future and to what, based on this, our countries can create together.”
Lebanon is eager for potential offshore gas and oil discoveries
The two countries had reached a preliminary agreement on mapping their offshore zones back in 2007, but ratification by the Lebanese parliament was delayed for many years.
Final movement on the pact followed a visit to Cyprus last month by Lebanese Energy Minister Joseph Saddi, shortly after the Lebanese cabinet endorsed the sea border deal.
Lebanon is eager for potential offshore gas and oil discoveries to generate state revenues and economic activity, which are desperately needed to reverse the country’s severe financial collapse that began in 2019. However, commercially viable finds have yet to be confirmed in Lebanon’s offshore blocks.
This agreement follows a 2022 US-brokered deal that delineated the maritime border between Lebanon and Israel. With the signing of the Cyprus agreement, Syria remains the only country with which Lebanon has yet to delineate its sea border.
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