The President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrives in Cyprus late on Sunday afternoon for a state visit between 11-13 February at the invitation of the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides.
According to a press release issued by the Cypriot Presidency, this is the first visit by a German President to Cyprus since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
A report published on the German Presidency’s website said that with this first visit by a German President to Cyprus, Federal President Steinmeier will underscore the close ties between Germany and Cyprus.
It also noted that “twenty years after Cyprus joined the European Union and 50 years after the division of the island, this trip to the country in the eastern Mediterranean will also pay tribute to the close partnership with an EU member state contending with a unique political and geographical situation”.
Government Spokesperson, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, said on Friday that German President Frank-Walter St
einmeier’s first state visit to Cyprus “carries significant weight”
The programme of the visit
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President Steinmeier is set to arrive in Cyprus late afternoon on 11 February accompanied by members of the German delegation.
On the morning of Monday, 12 February, President Christodoulides will receive the German President at the Presidential Palace, where brief ceremonies to decorate the two Presidents will take place followed by private meetings and extended discussions between the delegations of both countries. Following these meetings, the two Presidents will make statements to the media.
After their statements, the two Presidents will visit Nicosia City Hall and then the old town of the capital along the Green Line.
“The visit of the German President along the ceasefire line in the last divided capital of Europe is both symbolic and of utmost significance,” emphasized Letymbiotis.
A meal will also be hosted by the leadership of the Cyprus Employers
and Industrialists Federation (KEBE) before President Steinmeier’s afternoon visit to the Anthropological Laboratory of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) and a brief meeting with UNFICYP peacekeepers. Later, he will visit the House of Europe and the Goethe Institute. He will also visit the House of Representatives, where he will meet with the President of the House.
In the evening, President Christodoulides will host an official dinner in honour of the German President at the Presidential Palace.
On Tuesday, February 13th, President Steinmeier will visit Makarios III Gymnasium in Platy Aglantzias, where he will talk with students before heading to the migrant reception Center in Kofinou where he will be briefed by Minister of Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou.
President Steinmeier will visit the village of Lefkara in Larnaca district, which he will tour. The two Presidents will have lunch in the village of Kato Drys before President Steinmeier departs for Germany.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, wh
en 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