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Statements by President Christofias The President of the Republic Mr Demetris Christofias, upon departure from the Presidential Palace today, to go to the UN Protected Area, to meet with the Turkish Cypriot leader Mr. Mehmet Ali Talat, made statements to the press. In reply to a question whether during his meeting with Mr Talat, which would take place within the framework of the direct negotiations, he expects a reversal of the negative climate which was created with the latter’s statements, President Christofias said: “I do not wish to aggravate things". "My effort is to maintain a good climate and a climate of trust between the two leaders", he added. -10.10.2008 more... Direct talks - third meeting between Christofias and Talat The President of the Republic Mr Demetris Christofias and the Turkish Cypriot leader Mr Mehmet Ali Talat will have their third substantial meeting today in the framework of the direct negotiations that began on 3rd September. The meeting will take place at the Nicosia airport in the presence of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, Mr Alexander Downer and of the Secretary-General’s and UNFICYP’s Chief of Mission, Mr Tayé-Brook Zerihoun. During the previous meetings (11 and 18 September), the two leaders discussed issues of governance and power sharing. According to a statement, yesterday, by the Government Spokesman Mr Stefanos Stefanou, the meeting will start at 9.30 am and there will be a private meeting between the two leaders. Mr Alexander Downer, who arrived in Cyprus on Wednesday, had a meeting yesterday with President Christofias and the Turkish Cypriot leader Mr Talat. Mr Downer also had meetings last week with the UN Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-Moon and with Representatives of the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council. On the way to Cyprus, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser made a stop in Brussels, where he had a meeting with the European Commissioner for Enlargement Mr Oli Rehn. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former Algerian Foreign Minister Lakhdar Brahimi, members of “the Elders”, a global group of eminent figures who have a commitment to make the world a better place, arrived in Cyprus to “lend their support and encouragement to those working towards ending the island’s decades of division”. The elders had a meeting yesterday with Mr Christofias and Mr Talat. - 10.10.2008 The President of the Republic received the delegation of the Elders The Elders visit Cyprus at an auspicious moment in the history of the island, Archbishop Desmond Tutu said today following the meeting the delegation of the Elders visiting Cyprus had with the President of the Republic Mr Demetris Christofias, at the Presidential Palace. The delegation of the Elders received by President Christofias, at a meeting that lasted one hour, comprises Archbishop Tutu, former USA President Mr Jimmy Carter and former Foreign Minister of Algeria Mr Lakhdaar Brahimi. After the meeting Archbishop Tutu told the Press that “we have had a very happy meeting, a confirmation of the very high regard we have for the two leaders. We have met one and we believe that we were quite right in coming. We have come at what we consider to be an auspicious moment in the history of Cyprus, where two outstanding young leaders want to lead this beautiful place to a solution and the world is waiting as it were with bated breath. -9.10.2008 more... Remarks by Special Adviser of the UN Secretary General Alexander Downer Following Meeting of Cyprus Leaders The leaders have asked me on their behalf to say a few words about the meeting they had this morning. The leaders had a productive meeting today. They had a one hour private meeting at the beginning and they have agreed to meet on a weekly basis. Their next meeting will take place next Monday, so just four days’ time. Working groups, representatives and experts will meet according to the instructions of the Leaders as needed. The leaders had further discussions today on the powers of the federal government, and they made progress. They also began discussions about the structure of the federal executive. Both sides made proposals and those discussions will continue next Monday. I think it is, from my point of view, very important that the leaders be given plenty of space in order to continue their work, and it is important that all commentators in the media bear this in mind. This is a very important negotiation for the future of Cyprusand the leaders will need a lot of space in order to conduct those negotiations. Thank you very much.-10.10.2008 The President of the Republic received the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus The United Nations are ready to be helpful in any way they can in the process to finding a solution to the Cyprus problem, UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus Mr Alexander Downer said today, adding that the negotiations can be a success but it is going to require a great act of statesmanship. Speaking to the press after having been received by the President of the Republic, Mr Demetris Christofias, at the Presidential Palace, the UN official said he had a very good meeting with the President and that he looks forward to tomorrow’s talks between the leaders of the two communities. Replying to a question on the role of the UN in the talks, Mr Downer said that “the important thing for the UN is to be helpful and I don’t think they can really offer more or less than that. I would like to think we are being helpful at this stage and we will continue to offer our help. The leaders have set their objectives. It’s clear what they ultimately want to achieve, they want to achieve a peace settlement and the UN has its mandate, we are facilitating the meetings and we will be helpful in any other way we possibly can. To be able to talk to the leaders and bring in a different perspective that is helpful.” Asked about his recent meetings in Brussels and whether he discussed the Cyprus issue, Mr Downer said that he met with Commissioner for Enlargement, Mr Oli Rehn, members of the European Parliament and other officials “who are very supportive of this process, they want this peace process to be successful and that is encouraging.” -09.10.2008 more... Remarks by the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the international conference «The Mediterranean and new Euro - Mediterranean perspectives» Today’s seminar, «The Mediterranean and new Euro - Mediterranean perspectives» is indeed very timely. Following the launch of the “Barcelona Process – Union for the Mediterranean” last July, there is a new impetus in the relationship between the countries on the north and south coast of the Mediterranean", the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Markos Kyprianou said, addressing the international conference «The Mediterranean and new Euro - Mediterranean perspectives», which was held in Nicosia yesterday. The aim of the revamped “partenariat” is the more practical implementation of the cooperation among Mediterranean partners, with the notion of co-ownership in the core of this cooperation, he said, adding that only through co-ownership we can attain a synergy of our efforts for the common economic, social and political development. Mr Kyprianou congratulated the Daedalos Institute of Geopolitics, for organising the conference, and expressed the confidence that the two-day conference will positively contribute to the dialogue among politicians, diplomats, academics and civil society as to the prospects and direction of the new euro-mediterranean perspectives. - 10.10.2008 more... Cypriots intending to visit Thailand advised to be careful The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, following its previous press release of 3 September in relation to the political situation in Thailand, urges Cypriot citizens who are intending to visit the country to be especially careful and to avoid crowded places and demonstrations. The Ministry also calls on Cypriot citizens to search information on the existing situation prior to their visits to Thailand. -9.10.2008 Eastern Cyprus Maritime Survey 2008 Field Season The Department of Antiquities announces the completion of this season´s underwater diving survey by a small international team of archaeologists and students along the island’s east coast in the area of Cape Greco and north toward Protaras. The project is financially and logistically supported by the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University, the University of Pennsylvania, and RPM Nautical Foundation, with additional support from the Thetis Foundation of Cyprus. Four weeks were dedicated to the investigation of a shallow shipwreck discovered during 2007. The site’s limits were established and a preliminary site plan was initiated. In addition, several ceramic samples, representative of the cargo components, were raised for further study and subsequently re-deposited. -3.10.2008 more... 5,0% rate of inflation in Cyprus, as measured by the HICP The Statistical Service announces that the evolution of the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) for September 2008 is as follows: l The HICP during September 2008 recorded an increase of 5,0% compared to the corresponding index of September 2007. During August 2008 the rate of inflation increased by 5,1%. l For the period October 2007- September 2008 the HICP recorded an increase of 4,4%. -07.10.2008 more... Foreign Trade Statistics July 2008 The Statistical Service of Cyprus announces that it has published the monthly report “Intra-Extra E.U Trade Statistics (Summarised Data)” for July 2008. The main developments in Cyprus foreign trade were: (a) Total imports/arrivals (covering total imports from third countries and arrivals from other Member States) in January-July 2008 amounted to €4.349,6mn as compared to €3.566,0mn in January-July 2007. Total exports/dispatches (covering total exports to third countries and dispatches to other Member States) in January-July 2008 were €689,4mn compared to €659,9mn in January-July 2007. The trade deficit was €3.660,3mn in January-July 2008 compared to €2.906,1mn in January-July 2007. (b) During July 2008 total imports/arrivals (covering total imports from third countries and arrivals from other Member States) valued at €778,0mn. (c) Total exports/dispatches (covering total exports to third countries and dispatches to other Member States), including stores and provisions, in July 2008 amounted to €109,8mn. Εxports/dispatches of domestically produced goods, including stores and provisions, were €46,9mn whilst exports/dispatches of foreign goods, including stores and provisions, were €62,9mn. -9.10.2008 more...

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