Dear Emmanuel,
It is with particular joy and deep appreciation that I welcome you to Cyprus, for the second time in just 45 days.
Your first visit, on March 9, marked the tangible and substantive support and solidarity of France towards Cyprus but also towards Europe itself. Cyprus, the Cypriot people, will never forget your substantive assistance, which also serves as a testament to the longstanding friendship and cooperation between Cyprus and France.
Today’s visit is historic. It is the first official bilateral visit of a French President to the Republic of Cyprus since its establishment in 1960. Your presence here, in Nicosia, in the last occupied European capital, lends substantive content—among many other things—to the enhanced strategic cooperation that we signed in December in Paris. It is a demonstration of our shared political will for concrete policies and actions. And it sends a clear message about the strength and prospects of our strategic cooperation.
: Nikos Christodoulides
President of Cyprus