Defence minister off to Egypt

Defence Minister Christoforos Fokaides was due to leave on Sunday for Cairo for an official visit at the invitation of his Egyptian counterpart, General Sedki Sobhi.

According to an official press release, is the first time a Cypriot defence minister will pay an official visit to Egypt.

On Monday Fokaides will have a private meeting with Sobhi followed by consultations between delegations of the two ministries.

During his visit, he will also meet with Patriarch of Alexandria Theodoros II and the Cypriot brotherhood of Alexandria.

Fokaides will return to Cyprus on, Tuesday.

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.