Anastasiades to attend WWI memorial in Paris

President Nicos Anastasiades travelled to Paris on Thursday to attend upcoming commemoration events for the centennial of the World War I armistice.

Anastasiades was in the French capital at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.

A total of 85 heads of state or government and their spouses were invited to the events.

Anastasiades was due to attend an event at the Arc de Triomphe where the French President would be delivering a speech and also at a lunch hosted by Macron in honour of the heads of state.

The president is also participating in the Paris Peace Forum where United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be key speakers.

Anastasiades returns on Sunday.

In Nicosia meanwhile, the foreign ministries of Cyprus and France reviewed progress in the implementation of the Strategic Agenda between the two nations, signed in 2016.

According to a foreign ministry press release, as part of the Strategic Agenda the two countries focus on enhancing their relations through political dialogue, economic relations, education and culture and in the fields of defence and security.

Defence and security issues were discussed both in the context of bilateral cooperation, as well as within the EU context. Both countries participate in the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO).

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.