Author: cnadmin

Any new proposals by the Turkish Cypriot side should be in line with the UN resolutions, President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades said on Tuesday afternoon, before attending a ceremony for the inauguration of Ayia Napa Marina.

Commenting on statements by Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar – who described the proposed Confidence Building Measures by the Greek Cypriot side and the federal solution as “outdated”, and said that he will submit new proposals – President Anastasiades said that Turkish Cypriot proposals are welcome if they are in line with the UN resolutions.

“If they will continue with their intransigent and unacceptable position it is better not to submit them at all,” he added.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Ayia Napa Marina establishes Cyprus as an all-year-round tourist destination, said the President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades, who attended the grand opening ceremony of the Marina on Tuesday evening.

President Anastasiades characterised Ayia Napa Marina as ”an iconic project”, which “will not only alter the tourist landscape of Cyprus, but of the Eastern Mediterranean as well.”

He also expressed his “sincere appreciation and gratitude” to Naguib Sawiris and Caramondanis Group for the accomplishment of the project.

“Ayia Napa Marina provides international world–class yachting facilities, luxurious residences and multi-purpose entertainment venues, said President Anastasiades, adding that setting high standards in terms of environmental protection and the provision of smart services to ships and visitors, it “is the only one in our immediate region which has been awarded with a relevant ISO Certificate.”

He went on to say that the added value of such a development significantly strengthens the position of Cyprus in an increasingly competitive global environment, making it an ideal environment for both visitors and investors.

“Both I and the government feel really proud since this project proves that we fully utilize our comparative advantages, such as our location at the cross-roads of three continents, with an established culture of warmth and hospitality and a modern legal system which is being widely recognised as being effective and truly business-friendly”, said President Anastasiades.

He also pointed out that the added value of such a development significantly strengthens the position of Cyprus in an increasingly competitive global environment, making it an ideal environment for both visitors and investors.

High-value projects such as the Ayia Napa Marina create hundreds of new jobs and attract quality tourism and adhere to the government’s strategically oriented policies in establishing Cyprus as an all-year-round tourist destination, said the President, adding that this strategy includes the growth of nautical and maritime tourism, through the development of Marinas along the coastline of Cyprus and the licensing of yacht berthing and superyacht areas.

President Anastasiades pointed out that “in addition to the Limassol Marina and Port, we have established related and interconnected projects, such as the Paralimni and the Larnaca Marinas and Ports.”

He also noted that ”the Ayia Napa Marina will bring about the positive effects that the constructive and transparent cooperation between the Central Government, local authorities and private sector entails.” This project, he said, will prove to be a jewel of Cyprus and the Mediterranean.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

A new picnic site in Troulloi village, which was created with the cooperation of the Embassy of Israel, the Forest Department and the local Community Council, was inaugurated today by the Minister of Agriculture, Costas Kadis, in the presence of the Israeli Ambassador, Oren Anolik. The picnic site was named “Israel Park” and the new forest in the area “Jerusalem Forest”.

Kadis said that the Israeli Embassy’s initiative to contribute with €35,000 for this project “confirms that the relationship between the two States extends beyond the pure political issues to other sectors and activities as well”. He expressed the Republic’s appreciation towards the Israeli Ambassador and added that this initiative, “in an area that has been suffering from fires and climate crisis for years, provides a clear message, that the protection of the environment is achieved under joint policies and actions”.

He also mentioned that the location selected for the implementation of the project is also connected to the Holocaust of European Jews during the Second World War and the support of Cyprus to Jews detained in the internment camp at the community of Xylotympou.

Kadis also stressed the importance of such a space in providing a relaxing outlet close to nature, both for visitors and locals, and emphasized the importance of such projects, reminding people of the importance and value of the natural environment, especially in times of climate change. He concluded that the efforts of the Forest Department to create new forests in the wider area have resulted to a unique green space of major importance.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus counts from the 1st of January until today 20 deadly road collisions with 22 dead, of which six did not wear a seat belt. As the Deputy Chief of Police, Demetris Demetriou said, this June, with 8 dead already, is described as a “dark month”.

On his part, the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Yiannis Karousos, announced a series of actions which he will take to address the phenomenon.

Speaking after a meeting at the Ministry of Transport, Demetriou said that “there is an increase of 33% in fatal road accidents compared to the same period last year and 37.5% in deaths.”

He expressed his concern that out of the nine drivers and car passengers, six who lost their lives did not wear seat belts, a rate that is around 66.3%.

However, according to the Deputy Chief of Police, the most tragic thing is that the ages of the dead who did not wear seat belts range from 20 to 39 years.

On his part, the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Yiannis Karousos, said that “we are particularly concerned about the increased fatal accidents, although based on statistics from 2011 to 2021 we had a 36.6% reduction in fatalities in Cyprus and we rank 17th in Europe in reduced fatal road accidents”.

He added that there was a “55% reduction in serious road injuries while in Europe there was almost no reduction in serious injuries”.

Also, 41% of this year fatal traffic accidents occurred from 4 pm to 8 pm and therefore the Minister called on everyone “to show the necessary attention, especially in those hours”.

As the Minister said, “until today we are at the level of deaths in 2018, which is why we all believe that we need to take more measures, to take more initiatives.”

In this direction, according to Karousos, several proposals are pending in Parliament, as well as amendments to laws submitted by the Ministry of Transport such as changes in driving licenses and additional protective equipment for those who use motorcycles for professional purposes.

Among other things, he said that the Ministry will be increasing its budget related to road safety while it will also go forward with studies in order to determine what should be done to be more effective in promoting road safety.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades intends to send letters to the UN Secretary General, the EU, the guarantor powers and the US to inform them on the illegal protocol of economic and fiscal cooperation Turkey has signed with the regime in the island’s occupied areas.

He will also brief them on the rejection of Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) he put forward by the Turkish side, the Government Spokesperson Marios Pelekanos said on Monday, following a meeting of the National Council.

Pelekanos said that the President discussed with political leaders the new provocations by Turkey and Cyprus’ coordination with Greece to address the new situation. According to the Spokesperson the President will thoroughly study what is included in this new illegal protocol and will brief the international community.

Pelekanos said that the political leaders expressed their views, adding that the meeting was held in a good and constructive atmosphere. He also said that they exchanged views on the reforms that need to be pursued so that the Cyprus government could secure funding from the EU’s recovery and resilience mechanism.

The Spokesperson said that a new meeting will follow chaired by the Finance Minister on the issue.

Replying to a question about the letters the President will send, Pelekanos said that although the other side has refused to discuss the CBMs, the government and our side will continue their efforts in order for Ankara to terminate its illegal activities and for the Cyprus problem to be put in track for solution. He noted that we will not withdraw the CBMs from the table and that the issue of sanctions is still being discussed.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied the island`s northern third. Numerous rounds of talks under UN aegis to reunite the island under a federal roof failed to yield results.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

European University Cyprus became an official EURAXESS Service Centre on 6th of June, 2022.

Professor Marios Vryonides, Vice-Rector of Research and External Affairs, signed an agreement with the Research and Innovation Foundation – the EURAXESS Bridgehead Organization for Cyprus – declaring the University’s commitment to the EURAXESS Network’s aims.

As a member of a network of more than 600 Service Centers in 42 countries, the University will provide, through the EUC Research Office, free personalized information on available work positions, funding opportunities and grants, practical support and services, as well as anything else that could be useful to researchers working in Europe.

“EURAXESS – Researchers in Motion” is a unique pan-European initiative delivering information and support services to professional researchers. Backed by the European Union, member states and associated countries, it supports researcher mobility and career development, while enhancing scientific collaboration between Europe and the world.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) expressed disappointment today with the decision of the World Trade Organization’s Ministerial Conference, which fell short of substantively addressing intellectual property rights roadblocks to COVID-19 vaccine access in developing countries. What has been heralded by some wealthy countries as a breakthrough compromise may indeed prove to be a smokescreen for lack of political will to address global health disparities after two years of fruitless talks.

“We applaud Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s tireless efforts to reach a workable compromise on the patents – she kept this vital issue at the top of WTO’s agenda, despite many competing priorities. Regrettably, what the ministers at the WTO finally decided on is a far cry from the original proposal advanced by India and South Africa, which sought to rapidly expand generic production of COVID-19 vaccines,” said AHF President Michael Weinstein. “Aside from a few, elaborately convoluted exceptions in the ministerial decision—that few countries will qualify for or risk invoking—the disparity in global health equity will remain fundamentally unchanged and beholden to pharmaceutical patent monopolies.”

Countries impacted by the lack of COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics will be hard-pressed to apply the provisions of the decision in the real world. For one, the decision failed to address the biggest challenge with producing generic vaccines – the lack of access to knowhow, such as bespoke proteins, cell cultures, and nanotechnology needed to create them.

These components are trade secrets held by drug companies, without which it is not possible to produce a new generation of highly effective biosimilar vaccines in a reasonable amount of time, even if one has a theoretical blueprint from a patent. The scope of the ministerial decision focused entirely on patents; hence technology transfers were omitted from it.

Additionally, eligible countries may only invoke provisions of the decision for five years, and they only apply to patents on vaccines, even though at this stage in the pandemic, the need for treatment is arguably becoming more important.

The decision does stipulate that in six months, WTO Members will consider expanding the policy to include diagnostics and therapeutics. The eligibility criteria themselves, however, limit the practical usefulness of the decision to developing countries, of which many lack the capacity for domestic vaccine production at scale.

Some critics of the decision have argued that it is in fact a step backward from the prevailing status quo surrounding the TRIPS flexibilities because it has introduced a slew of minute parameters and constraints that might set a precedent unfavorable to the spirit of TRIPS – namely, to give countries the right and legal protections to ignore patents during emergencies in the interest of public health.

After a drawn-out struggle at the WTO, one thing is clear – advocacy to prioritize people’s lives over corporate profits is far from over for civil society and concerned citizens around the world.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Advocate Achilleas Emilianides was appointed by Attorney General, George Savvides, to carry out a criminal investigation into the allegations by the Governor of the Central Prison, Anna Aristotelous, and Senior official at the Cyprus Prisons Department, Athena Demetriou.

In a written statement, the Attorney General said that the terms of Emilianides’ mandate are to conduct a criminal investigation into possible criminal offences by a Senior police officer, an inmate at the Central Prison, and any other person in relation to the complaint filed.

According to the Attorney General, the investigation should be completed within a month.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Ministers of Defence of Cyprus, Greece and Egypt expressed their concern and condemned any unilateral actions that violate the sovereignty, sovereign rights and territorial integrity of any country in the wider East Mediterranean region and highlighted that its necessary for all countries to respect international law and the UN Charter, the UN convention on the law of the sea (UNCLOS) and all other relevant agreements.

General Mohamed Zaki, Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, Minister of Defence and Military Production of the Arab Republic Of Egypt, Charalambos Petrides, Minister of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus and Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, Minister of National Defence of the Hellenic Republic met on Monday in Cairo.

A joint statement was issued following their 5th Trilateral Meeting which says that they reviewed the progress of the defence and security cooperation and expressed their appreciation of the joint accomplishments. They also reaffirmed their common will and determination to further develop coordination, cooperation and joint endeavors to boost security and stability as well as to support the creation of an environment in the Eastern Mediterranean conducive to growth well-being and prosperity of their people.

The Ministers of Defence also reviewed developments and perspectives concerning the security and strategic conditions in the Middle East and East Mediterranean as well as the tensions affecting the security and stability of the broader region, the joint statement reads.

The three Ministers also agreed on a joint vision that supports the continuously increasing strategic importance of the East Mediterranean in the present and future of the portfolio of energy climate change and security, the security of transportation lines and international maritime trade routes. They also stressed the importance of their cooperation for enhancing the security of energy supply, providing an additional source of energy supply of Europe and have recognized the military and security tasks and burdens that necessitate boosting coordinate and cooperation efforts.

According to the joint statement, the Ministers of Defence of the three countries expressed their deep concern about the restoration of terrorist organizations and their activity in many conflict and tension hotbeds in the Middle East and the African Sahel.

At the same time smuggling with all its forms, illegal migration and human trafficking, still pose a constant challenge, they agreed. Furthermore the mercenaries phenomenon, the transfer of foreign fighters and support for armed militias, all constitute a dangerous threat to regional and international peace and security and impose further responsibilities to cooperate and coordinate countermeasures against these challenges, the statement says.

The Ministers of Defence cherished the efforts exerted by the Armed forces of the their countries to implement the joint training programs for the three services (Army- Navy- Air Force) and welcomed the participation of friendly countries in these exercise which represent a cornerstone for coordination and capabilities integration to enhance regional peace, security and stability.

They also stressed the importance of international cooperation to contain global security tension, mitigate global polarization and end armed conflicts immediately. The settlement of crises through diplomatic and political means for avoiding long and geographically-stressed confrontations that will harm the entire world particularly the developing countries in terms of securing their basic and strategic needs of nutrition and energy security and defence requirements, were also highlighted during the meeting.

The statement furthermore says that the three Ministers of Defence agreed to intensify communications, consultations, exchange of information, evaluations and coordination of joint efforts to meet the scale of military and security challenges and threats regionally as well as to satisfy the requirements of enhancing the security and interests of the three countries.

The next trilateral meeting will be held in Greece in 2023.

In a brief statement to the press the Cyprus Defence Minister said that the three countries enjoy long-lasting and genuine relations which are enhanced not only in the areas of defence and security but also in other sectors such as energy and trade. He said that today they had the chance to review these ties and to talk about the recent developments in the eastern Med and the Mideast regions.

Petrides said that the three countries have excellent relations and there is potential for further cooperation with respect to international law. He also noted that all the goals and visions said in today’s meeting will be met until the next one in 2023 in Greece.

A press release by the Ministry says that in the context of his visit Petrides had a bilateral meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Colonel General Mohamed Zaki with whom they discussed matters of bilateral and regional interest placing an emphasis on the the countries’ defence cooperation.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

M/V Daleela has docked in Piraeus port after a journey of approximately 30 hours, marking the first sea connection between Cyprus and Greece after 21 years.

Deputy Minister of shipping Vasilis Demetriades who, among other government officials were onboard the ship which sailed from Limassol port on Sunday, expressed his satisfaction and excitement while Greece’s Deputy Minister of Tourism Sofia Zacharaki said that this journey boosts bilateral ties.

Piraeus Town Hall officials organised a welcoming event with the participation of the philharmonic.

Demetriades called on Cypriots and Greeks to embrace the sea connection and make it sustainable, adding that there is a lot of potential for the further enhancement of sea tourism between the two countries.

Zacharaki praised the efforts by the Cyprus government that made this connection possible and assured of Greece’s support.

The ship with 155 passengers aboard arrived at Piraeus port at 1800 local time.

Present at the welcoming ceremony were, among others, Shipping deputy minister of Greece Costas Katsafados, Cyprus Ambassador Kyriakos Kenevezos and deputy mayor of Piraeus Demetris Karydis.

Source: Cyprus News Agency