Press Releases

It is with great pleasure that I join you at this truly meaningful and important ceremony for the Stelios Bi-Communal Business Cooperation Awards, an initiative that carries such strong symbolic messaging. 

These awards are not simply about recognising successful business collaborations. They are about honouring and promoting the spirit of cooperation and mutual trust between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. 

Above all, they are a symbol of hope, a clear testament that together we can build a better future for Cyprus – one of regained coexistence, cocreation, in conditions of peace and stability. 

These awards are a promise for the Cyprus we envision. Of the reunited Cyprus that all Cypriots, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, deserve. 

Over the past fifteen years, the Stelios Bi-Communal Business Cooperation Awards have become a landmark institution in Cyprus, a recognised and deeply impactful initiative dedicated to promoting lasting peace through business cooperation between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. This programme carved a new path and it pioneered. 

In fact, since its inception, the awards programme has been a pioneer in supporting business collaboration across the green line. Guided by its founder’s firm belief that economic cooperation between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities can lay the foundations for peaceful coexistence, it has become a driver of peace. 

That is precisely how Sir Stelios envisioned the programme. In his own words: 

“Economic cooperation between the two communities in Cyprus is fundamental for building mutual understanding and trust, ultimately contributing to lasting peace on the island”. 

With my presence here today, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to Sir Stelios, whose vision and generosity, through the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, instilled life into this initiative. Now, in its 15th year, the programme has awarded a total of €4.8 million. This year alone, it will distribute €410,000 in prizes to 20 entrepreneurs, Greek and Turkish Cypriots, whose impactful cooperation exemplifies all that Cypriots can accomplish when they are allowed to come together. 

It is precisely for this reason that this initiative does so much more than support entrepreneurs. It stands as a beacon of bicommunal coexistence and cocreation, fostering a culture of cooperation, a foundation upon which our country can be reunited. We have achieved this peaceful coexistence in the past, and there is no doubt that we can do so again, paving our future together. 

The Government, and I personally, fully support all bi-communal actions and initiatives that bring Cypriots together. It is my firm belief that fostering contact, communication, and cooperation among our people is essential in building the conditions for reconciliation and, of course, reunification. 

This is the Cyprus I envision; a reunited Cyprus, within the greatest peace project there is, the European Union (EU), the common home of all Cypriots. Their space of safety, stability, peace, and prosperity. And the greatest, the only guarantee for the future of all Cypriots. 

We cannot and will not compromise with the current status quo – that of division and occupation. The current status quo robs Cyprus and all Cypriots of their full potential. This cannot be the future of this blessed island, of our children, and of the generations to come. It cannot be the future of a European member state. 

The continuing occupation in Cyprus is a paradox within the European project. It is an open wound not just for Cyprus and all its people, but an open wound also for Europe that begs to be healed. 

The time is now. No matter how challenging it may be. 

At a moment when as a Union, we are striving for more unity, for greater integration, for more Europe. 

Rest assured that my resolve and my commitment to reunifying Cyprus and its people, through a comprehensive settlement in line with the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) is resolute and unwavering. 

Since day one of assuming office, I have exerted tireless and persistent efforts at all levels to create conditions for the resumption of negotiations, in line with the agreed and only framework, as defined by UNSCR and, of course, European law, principles, and values. 

I have spared no effort and will spare no effort in creating the conditions that will break the stalemate in the negotiating process. The 14 unilateral measures towards our Turkish Cypriot compatriots announced last year and implemented, and the steps we have taken in EU-Turkey relations based on a positive agenda based firmly on conditionality that includes the Cyprus question are only some of the steps that have yielded results. 

It has been a strenuous path, but one I will continue to walk with determination. 

This is how we were led to the informal expanded meeting on the Cyprus problem, held in Geneva, at the invitation of the United Nations Secretary-General, to whom I am deeply appreciative for his commitment to reunifying the last divided EU member state. The meeting resulted in the agreement for discussion of a number of confidence-building initiatives, in the agreement for the appointment of a Personal Envoy and in a new expanded meeting at the end of July. This development is of particular significance, marking a positive step towards the resumption of the negotiation process, the first substantial progress in the right direction since 2017, as the Secretary-General himself has noted. 

Equally significant was the joint letter addressed to the Secretary-General by the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council on the very day of the Geneva meeting, which clearly articulates the EU’s clear position on Cyprus problem: that there is only one basis for a solution, that outlined in UNSCR and in line with EU law, values and principles, and that for the EU, a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem is a matter of paramount importance. 

These developments create a small window of opportunity. It is a space of opportunity we have a duty to expand, with resolve, and guided always by our vision for a reunified Cyprus. 

Our objective is clear: resumption of negotiations in line with the agreed framework. There is only one path; that of dialogue and peace. 

As President of all Cypriots, I am fully committed to a viable and functional settlement that will uphold and safeguard the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Cypriots, of all lawful citizens, in conditions of security, stability, and prosperity. A solution that will allow our children to grow up in a reunited European country without troops. A country where Cypriots – Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians, and Latins – will be able to determine their own lives and future. A country free of foreign interference, truly independent, and able to maintain its role as a stable, reliable partner in the Eastern Mediterranean, and as a bridge between Europe and our region. 

Our country, Cyprus, as the EU’s lighthouse in the Eastern Mediterranean, can be a beacon of peace, stability, coexistence, and prosperity. Through a viable and functional reunified state, through a solution in line with international and European law. Peace in Cyprus would send a resounding message of coexistence, reconciliation, and hope to the region and beyond. 

I would like to once again commend the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, Sir Stelios himself, for the unwavering commitment to a vision of peace through reunification. 

To the recipients of this year’s awards, I extend my warmest congratulations. You are worth praise, and you represent the Cyprus we aspire and commit to. 

(RM/IA/GS)