President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides travels on Wednesday to Belgrade, in the company of Ministers, to pay an official visit there and to attend the 3d Cyprus-Serbia Intergovernmental Conference (IGC). Subsequently, the President will travel to Rome, where he is expected to discuss the Cypriot initiative for a humanitarian maritime corridor to Gaza, as well as the Cyprus issue. In the Vatican, the President will also meet with the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
In statements after the Cabinet meeting, on Tuesday, in Nicosia, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the President travels on November 22 to Belgrade for the official visit, to be followed by the Intergovernmental Conference. Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Education and Defence will also attend the conference, he added.
On Wednesday, the first day of the official visit to Serbia, the President will meet with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic, to be followed by an extended meeting of the delegations and a joint press
conference. Subsequently, he will visit the National Assembly and meet with its President, while later in the evening the President of Serbia will host a banquet to honor the President of Cyprus and the Cypriot delegation.
As Letymbiotis said, on Thursday, November 23, the day of the Intergovernmental Conference, Minsters will hold bilateral meetings with their counterparts while the Cyprus President will meet with Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Porfirije.
After that the Intergovernmental Conference will take place, chaired by Presidents Christodoulides and Vucic.
‘In the framework of the Conference the two countries will sign Memoranda of Understanding in the fields of education, science, innovation and advanced technologies, as well as in cooperation between the two countries’ diplomatic academies’ the Spokesman noted. He added that Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabic will then host a working lunch for the President and the Cypriot delegation.
Following the conclusion of the IGC the President
of Cyprus will depart for Rome, where he will meet on Thursday with the country’s President Sergio Mattarella and later with the Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni during a work meeting.
‘During the said meetings, developments in our region, the initiative of the Republic of Cyprus for the creation of a maritime corridor for humanitarian aid to Gaza, migration and efforts on behalf of our side to resume settlement talks in the Cyprus issue will be discussed’ Letymbiotis said.
He also noted that President Christodoulides will visit on Friday the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City where he will be welcomed by the Swiss Guards and will have a tete-a-tete meeting with Pope Francis. The Cypriot delegation will join them later.
‘There is a dual symbolism in the visit of the President of the Republic to the Holy See, since it is the first meeting of the President of the Republic with the head of the Roman Catholic Church and it is being held on the occasion of the 50-year-anniversary of the establishment of dip
lomatic relations between the Republic of Cyprus and the Holy See,’ he underlined.
Moreover, he said that the President will convey the appreciation of the Cypriot people towards the Holy See for the charity work of the Catholic Church throughout the world and he will also refer to the excellent bilateral relations, while expressing the determination of the Republic of Cyprus to move on with pending agreements concerning health, education, cultural and museum cooperation.
According to Letymbiotis, ‘President Christodoulides will inform Pope Francis for the efforts of our side to resume talks for a Cyprus settlement and in relation to the need for the UN Secretary-General to appoint an envoy, while he will also elaborate on the initiative of the Republic of Cyprus for a more active engagement of the EU in efforts to break the impasse.’
He also went on to say that the President will refer to the destruction of cultural and religious heritage in the Turkish-occupied areas of Cyprus, including Catholic monumen
ts, such as the Saint George of the Latins church in Famagusta, which is used as Turkish baths while also noting the violations of religious freedoms, with the dismissal of requests to hold religious services in occupied areas.
‘The President of the Republic will discuss developments in the region and the role of the Republic of Cyprus as a pillar of stability and peace in our geopolitically volatile neighbourhood. Along those lines, he will inform His Holiness for the initiative of the Republic of Cyprus in relation to the creation of a maritime corridor for the safe, unhindered, long-standing transportation of humanitarian aid, with dense flow, toward the civilian population in Gaza’ the Spokesman said.
President Christodoulides, he added, will elaborate on the plans so far to materialize the initiative, the results of the relevant contacts and he will also discuss with Pope Francis ways the Holy See may support and enhance the initiative.
Letymbiotis said that President Christodoulides will later meet w
ith the Prime Minister and Deputy Foreign Minister of the Holy See.
After that, he will visit the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta, where he will be officially received by the Grand Master and the Order’s Foreign Minister. After the meeting, a postal agreement will be signed by Cyprus’ Foreign Minister and the Order’s Finance Minister.
The Grand Master will host and official banquet for the President of Cyprus and the Cypriot delegation before their departure, the Spokesman concluded.
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. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Source: Cyprus News Agency