NICOSIA - For Cyprus, the decision to pursue a more structured and enhanced dialogue with the Arab League was the natural progression of the traditional friendship and cooperation that exists between Cyprus and the Arab world, Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou has stressed, addressing the Council of Permanent Representatives of the Arab League, in Cairo, the first Cypriot Foreign Minister who has addressed the Council.As Kyprianou said, today’s bilateral consultations are a follow-up to the consultations held in Nicosia in February 2008. They fall under the Memorandum of Bilateral Consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus and the General Secretariat of the Arab League, which was signed in November 2007. Also very importantly, in August 2009, the first Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the Arab League was accredited, a milestone in our bilateral relations. “Through this regular dialogue, we aim at exchanging views on issues of common concern and interest. It is indeed noteworthy that on many issues Cyprus and the Arab League share common perspectives. Nonetheless, we want to achieve an even better understanding of the Arab positions and insights, especially on issues that are close to the heart of the Arab world”.