Jim Murphy

Visit by President Christofias of Cyprus

President Dimitris Christofias and Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou of Cyprus were in London recently for their first official visit to the UK since President Christofias’ election in February. Given the sun that was beaming down on London during their visit, clearly the Cypriots brought some of their eastern-Mediterranean weather with them. 
 
I must admit to being very impressed by President Christofias’ commitment to a settlement and the leadership he has shown since his election earlier this year. This commitment was apparent throughout the visit.  Both in the meetings with the Prime Minister, and with the Foreign Secretary and I, we made it clear to President Christofias and Markos Kyprianou that the UK is ready and willing to support the settlement process as best possible, and is fully committed to the establishment of an indivisible Cyprus.  The Prime Minister also stressed that the UK wants to work with all parties, to help ensure progress towards a Cyprus settlement that all parties are happy with. 
 
The UK and Cypriot populations could not be closer –every year, more than 8,000 Cypriot students come to study in the UK, and Cyprus is the tourist destination of choice for more than one million Brits.  But politically, given our many shared objectives, there are also plenty of areas of potential cooperation between the UK and Cyprus, both in the EU and bilaterally, including subjects like water management, road safety, education and tourism.  Both the Foreign Secretary and I made clear throughout our meeting that we are looking forward to a strong partnership with Cyprus, based on friendship and cooperation.
 
I am very much looking forward to visiting Cyprus in the near future, and meeting, amongst others, the President and Foreign Minister again. My visit will be an opportunity to listen and learn, and explore how best the UK can support the settlement process.  Interesting times to come!

Posted at 10:36 11 June 2008 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[1]