Press Releases

The President of the Republic, Mr Nicos Anastasiades, received the credentials of the Ambassador of Japan, Mrs Seki Izumi, during a formal ceremony held at the Presidential Palace on Thursday, 8 October 2020.

Presenting her credentials, Mrs Izumi, speaking in English, said:

“Your Excellency,

It is a great honor and privilege for me to be received in audience today by Your Excellency and present my credentials by which His Majesty the Emperor of Japan appointed me as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Republic of Cyprus, as well as the Letter of Recall of my predecessor.

His Majesty the Emperor of Japan has instructed me to convey Your Excellency His Majesty’s best wishes and his sincere hope to maintain and further promote the friendship and goodwill which happily exist between Cyprus and Japan.

Excellency,

It is my great pleasure to acknowledge that the Republic of Cyprus and Japan have developed excellent relations through bilateral and international cooperation since the establishment of our diplomatic relations.

The Embassy of Japan in Cyprus opened its office in January 2018, and the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus opened in Tokyo in September 2019. These commemorative and historic facts are the significant evidence of our commitment to giving new impetus to strengthen our relations as partners who share the common fundamental values such as respecting democracy and the rule of law.

As the second Ambassador of Japan residing in the Republic of Cyprus, I am determined to dedicate myself to explore the untapped potential and opportunities for further strengthening the existing friendly relations between our two countries including in such fields as politics, economy, trade, culture, education, science and technology, as well as in people-to-people contacts.

The active high level exchange and visits between officials from both governments, as well as the increase of people-to-people contacts are essential for deepening our mutual understanding and for evolving our cooperation in both the bilateral and the international realms.

As an excellent example of such high-level exchanges, I would like to convey to Your Excellency our appreciation that it had a very special meaning for us that the First Lady, Mrs Andri Anastasiadou, visited Japan in October last year, on behalf of Your Excellency, the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Nicos Anastasiades, to attend the ceremony of the Enthronement of His Majesty the Emperor at the Seiden (State Hall). We sincerely hope that this kind of visits shall be continued in years to come.

I would also like to confirm the position of the Government of Japan regarding the Cyprus problem. My Government will continue its contributions to a peaceful and viable solution based on the related United Nations resolutions as a member of the G7 and the United Nations so that the people of Cyprus may live in a secure environment.

Last but not least, I would like to convey to you and to all the people in the Republic of Cyprus, best wishes for peace and prosperity on behalf of the people of Japan”.

Receiving the credentials, the President said:

“It is with distinct pleasure and sincere feelings of friendship that I receive today your Letters of Credence appointing you as the new Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of Cyprus.  I would like to assure you that my Government will provide you with every assistance in the performance of your high duties and we look forward to working with you on further developing the bilateral relations between our two countries.

Cyprus and Japan share a history of 58 years of diplomatic relations. Despite the geographical distance, our two countries share common characteristics, values, principles and interests. They are both island states, with a rich history, strong advocates of international law, peace and world stability, maritime pioneers and with hard working citizens.

The year 2018 has been a milestone for our relations, as we witnessed the opening and inauguration of the Embassy of Japan in Nicosia. In 2019, Cyprus was able to reciprocate this significant gesture by opening an Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Tokyo, accrediting its first resident Ambassador. The reciprocal opening of Embassies, backed by a mutual willingness and readiness, will pave the way into further enhancing our bilateral ventures in areas such as trade, investment, maritime affairs, culture and education.

On the international stage, Cyprus and Japan abide by the principle of effective multilateralism. Our cooperation in international organizations and fora has been significant. We express our appreciation for the positive contributions and commitments made by Japan to the rules-based international order with the aim of achieving global prosperity, security and stability.

As regards the EU, Japan is also a very close and important partner. Over the years, the EU-Japan relations have been developing steadily in a wide range of areas, culminating in signing the Strategic and Economic Partnership Agreement in 2018. From our side, rest assured that we will continue to support the enhancement of EU-Japan relations in the coming years for the mutual benefit of both sides.

The reunification of Cyprus and its people after 46 years of Turkish occupation is long overdue. In the face of this perpetuated injustice, the aim of reaching a lasting solution which would safeguard the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus, without any third country dependencies, military troops and guarantees, cannot wane.

The Republic of Cyprus highly values Japan’s principled stance on the Cyprus Issue and your country’s consistent support to our efforts to reach a comprehensive and viable settlement.

Regrettably, Turkey’s illegal drilling operations within our Exclusive Economic Zone run contrary to the necessity of having a good and positive climate that will enable the resumption of the negotiating process under the auspices of the United Nations. These Turkish actions have been strongly condemned by the international community and the EU, since they infringe upon the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus and do not comply with International Law, particularly so the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the principles of good neighbourly relations. Apart from escalating tensions in our turbulent region, the illegal and provocative actions by Turkey not only adversely affect our efforts to resume the peace process but they leave no room for bringing about the necessary conditions for all parties to engage in a results-oriented dialogue.  We do hope that Turkey will finally chose to adopt a more pragmatic and constructive approach and abide by International Law.

Moreover, we are gravely concerned by Turkey’s decision for the opening of the fenced city of Varosha, in yet another flagrant violation of UN decisions. The UN Secretary General has already expressed apprehension over this decision which is his own words might as well “heighten tensions and undermine chances for a resumption of peace talks”. On our side, we call upon Turkey to fully abide by pertinent UN Security Council Resolutions, which call for the return and resettlement of Varosha by its rightful and lawful inhabitants, and abandon any plans that are in clear violation of the 1979 High-Level Agreement between the Leaders of the two communities, as well as UN Security Council Resolutions 414 (1970), 442 (1980), 550 (1984) and 789 (1992).

To this end, on numerous occasions, I reiterated in the clearest terms to the UN Secretary General, our partners in the EU and the international community in general, that I remain strongly committed to resuming the negotiating process. But for the talks to resume with realistic prospects for success, it is imperative to create an environment which will be conducive for constructive and good faith negotiations. And certainly not under conditions of intimidation or threats by Turkey.

In concluding, I would kindly request that you convey to His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Naruhito, as well as to the friendly people of Japan our warmest greetings and a message of sincere friendship and solidarity.

Ambassador Seki, I warmly welcome you to Cyprus and I wish you every success in your mission. I am confident that during your tenure we will work constructively together to further deepen our countries’ cooperation”.

(EK/SCH)