The Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as energy and commodity shortages and price hikes are driving the world towards a multifaceted crisis. Mankind is sailing through troubled and uncharted waters. In addition to the aforementioned threats and challenges, there are also concerns on new refugee flows, new arms races, a possible new cold war, while we are still lagging behind in tackling climate change.

At the same time, there is ongoing discussion on accelerating the green and digital transition and on reinforcing Europe’s unity against the current threats. The eastern Mediterranean region and Cyprus in particular, has a unique place within this setting. The region can play an important role in Europe's energy security and the diversification of energy sources and offer examples of effective leadership and co-operation. Governments, institutions and organisations of civil society should now work on new strategies to tackle the current crisis through mastery, flexibility, openness and ;Cyprus, Greece, Israel as well as several Arab countries have shown, in recent years, their readiness to address global challenges by upgrading regional co-operation.