By a Staff Reporter
CYPRUS and Lebanon yesterday signed three agreements on cultural, educational and scientific co-operation, return of illegal immigrants and combating organised crime and the illicit use and trafficking of drugs.
Ministers from the two countries signed the agreements after the conclusion of official talks held earlier in the day between the two countries’ delegations, headed by the Presidents of Cyprus and Lebanon, Glafcos Clerides and General Emile Lahoud.
In their statements to reporters after the signing ceremony, the two Presidents spoke of the close ties and co-operation between the two countries and assured of their willingness to further upgrade and enhance them.
After their talks, the two Presidents exchanged decorations. Clerides decorated Lahoud with the Grand Collar of the Order of Makarios III while Lahoud decorated Clerides with the Grand Cordon of the Cedar Order.
Lahoud said he had expressed gratitude to Clerides “for his efforts on behalf of the Cypriot people, the cause of people in general and those on behalf of every righteous cause.”
“I also reiterated to his Excellency the gratitude of the Lebanese people for the safe haven they found in Cyprus during our years of hardship and strife,” he added.
“We discussed Middle Eastern issues, namely the serious escalation in the occupied Palestinian Arab territories, I informed President Clerides of the Beirut Arab Summit deliberation, and the Peace Initiative that we adopted”, he added.
Regarding bilateral relations, Lahoud said “we were in agreement that all the treaties between Lebanon and Cyprus are but a first step towards the consolidation and furthering of our bilateral relations”, adding, “these treaties have laid the ground work for our future cooperation.”
He also noted he had confirmed that Lebanon would fully support Cyprus’ application for EU accession, “allowing this brotherly neighbour to make full use of opportunities to further its social and economic agendas, while preserving a genuine Cypriot identity.”
“We are very happy that Cyprus is going to get into the EU for many reasons. One of them is that you will be accessible to Lebanon. It is only half an hour’s flight and when you get a visa you have it for all Europe. At the same time I think that many Europeans will come to Cyprus and will extend their visit to Lebanon,” Lahoud said.
Lahoud added he conveyed to President Clerides an invitation to visit “his second home”, Lebanon.
Clerides said the bonds between Cyprus and Lebanon were governed by mutual feelings of love, friendship, trust, understanding and consolidation in all fields.
He noted that “a tangible example that reflects the friendship and co-operation between the two countries is the massive arrival in Cyprus of thousands of Lebanese civilians during the tragic events that took place in the recent past”, adding that many of these people were still in Cyprus.
Lahoud arrived in Cyprus early yesterday morning on a three-day state visit.
Today the Lebanese President will travel to the Presidential Residence on Troodos and will visit Limassol.
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.
