Category: Cyprus News Agency

The funeral of former MP and former Vice-President of the Democratic Rally (DISY), Katie Clerides, who passed away on Monday at the age of 76, was held in deep sorrow, in the presence of President of the Republic, the President of the House of Representatives, leaders and representatives of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot parties, current and former MPs and a large crowd.

Eulogies were delivered by the President of DISY and House President, Annita Demetriou, Meltem Onurkan-Samani, a friend of the deceased and founder of the Cyprus Peace and Dialogue Centre (CPDC), and Andia Ioannides Charaki, a friend of the deceased. A poem was read by her maid of honour, Androula Shati.

In her eulogy, Annita Demetriou said – among other things – that ‘Katie Clerides never fit into stereotypes, she did not fit into titles, she did not fit into boxes, because she was and will always be something much more, a rare person, a special friend and a great colleague,’ she pointed out.

‘Her greatest desire was to see her country free and reunited. She never stopped hoping and working hard for this, until her last breath,’ she noted.

‘She opened roads, she knew how to build bridges, she brought groups of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots together. She believed in dialogue, she believed in coexistence,’ Demetriou said.

In her eulogy, Meltem Onurkan-Samani said that Katie Clerides remains ‘through all these years a role model enlightening our mission toward peace, a real peace, one grounded on honesty and human dignity.’

‘You were always frank in saying that the majorities were not ready for a peace accord, even 60 years after 1964, yet you never stopped working for it. You were eager to build understanding where others only built rhetoric,’ she emphasised.

On her part, Andia Ioannides Charaki said that Katie Clerides’ books reflect her thoughts and experiences on conflict resolution, social justice and reconciliation, noting that her political action focused on the rapprochement of the two communities towards a common homeland with equal rights.

“Katie Clerides was a beacon of hope, endurance and unwavering dedication to justice. She was modest, far from showing off, always correct and an idealist,” she said. “She did not hesitate to politically judge those who deviated from the principles of her party and deviated from the correct, exemplary political principles that they should respect,” she pointed out.

Katie Clerides, was the daughter of former President of Cyprus Glafcos Clerides. She was born in London on May 10, 1949. She had served three terms as a Democratic Rally MP in the 1990s and early 2000s and was the first woman Vice President of the party. She was a strong advocate for the reunification of Cyprus and rapprochement between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. She also championed causes to do with human rights and animal rights.

Renowned Cyprus Professor Kypros Nikolaides, basen in the UK, was elected an external member, in the Medical Sciences section, of the Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts.

The selection took place during during the 66th plenary session of the Academy on September 17, following a proposal by the Order of Positive Sciences.

A press release says that Professor Nikolaides is internationally recognized as a leader in fetal medicine and prenatal surgery and his numerous contributions include the establishment of methods for detecting structural and chromosomal abnormalities, as well as effective intrauterine therapeutic interventions, namely fetal blood transfusions and endoscopic laser separation of communicating placental vessels in monochorionic twins.

Professor Nikolaides is internationally recognized as the founder of the measurement of nuchal translucency, the diagnostic technique that contributes to the early detection of genetic mutations associated with Down syndrome, while he is a pioneer in the research and applications of Cell Free DNA testing for the detection of chromosomal abnormalities in a woman’s peripheral blood, the press release reads.

He is a Professor of Fetal Medicine, Director of the Harris Birthright Research Centre for Fetal Medicine, King’s College Hospital and Founder/Director of the Fetal Medicine Foundation.

His numerous awards include the Excellence in Sciences, Letters and Arts of the Republic of Cyprus, the Gold Cross of the Order of the Phoenix of the Hellenic Republic, the Ian Donald Gold Medal, the Eardley Holland Gold Medal, the European Maternity Prize, the Erich Sailing Prize, as well as Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Cyprus, Athens, Thessaloniki, Cairo, Warsaw, Bucharest, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, among others. He has been elected as a member of the US National Academy of Medicine.

The European Commission has initiated infringement proceedings by sending a letter of formal notice to Cyprus, along with Bulgaria, Denmark, and France, for failing to correctly transpose the provisions of the Firearms Directive (Directive (EU) 2021/555).

The Directive establishes common minimum standards for the acquisition, possession, and commercial exchange of civilian firearms, such as those used for sport shooting and hunting. According to the Commission, the Directive maintains high security standards and protection against criminal acts and illicit trafficking of firearms.

Following the issuance of the formal notices, the member states now have a two-month deadline to respond and address the shortcomings identified by the Commission. If their responses are deemed unsatisfactory, the Commission may proceed with issuing a reasoned opinion, the next step in the infringement process.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) All Share Index closed at today`s stock exchange meeting as follows:

MEETING DATE: 08/10/2025

INDICES BASE VALUES: FTSEMed=5000, OTH

The current account balance and the international investment position (IIP) of Cyprus recorded an improvement, while its gross external debt decreased in the second quarter of 2025 (Q2 2025), according to provisional data for external statistics for Q2 2025, released by the Statistics Department of the Central Bank of Cyprus on Wednesday.

In particular, the current account balance of Cyprus recorded an improvement, with the deficit decreasing from pound 341.7 million in Q2 2024, to pound 257.3 million, in Q2 2025.

The resulting deficit adjusted for the impact of Special Purpose Entities (SPEs), that is, classifying SPEs as non-residents, stood at pound 280.9 million in Q2 2025, compared with a deficit of pound 363.6 million in Q2 2024.

The international investment position (IIP) recorded an improvement in Q2 2025, presenting a net liability position of pound 30,094.9 million, compared with a net liability position of pound 30,420.9 million in Q1 2025.

With the corresponding data being adjusted for the impact of SPEs, IIP recorded a net liability position of pound 11,480.9 million in Q2 2025, compared with a net liability position of pound 11,871.7 million, in Q1 2025.

The gross external debt decreased to pound 232,988.2 million in Q2 2025 from pound 233,599.8 million in Q1 2025. The external assets in debt instruments decreased to pound 223,083.6 million, from pound 223,482.2 million in Q1 2025. Consequently, the net external debt decreased by pound 213.0 million to pound 9,904.6 million in Q2 2025.

Adjusted for the impact of SPEs, gross external debt reached pound 59,044.1 million in Q2 2025, compared to pound 59,569.7 million, in Q1 2025. The corresponding net external debt indicator decreased to -pound 24,313.4 million in Q2 2025, compared with -pound 23,924.4 million in Q1 2025.

Cyprus’ House President, Annita Demetriou, on Tuesday discussed with outgoing Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Cyprus, Vladimir Nemec, the strengthening of bilateral relations.

According to a statement by Parliament, Demetriou thanked Nemec for the good cooperation between the House of Representatives and the Embassy of the Czech Republic during his term and for his contribution to the further deepening of bilateral relations between Cyprus and the Czech Republic and, by extension, the two parliaments.

It said that the House President ‘expressed her appreciation for the principled stance and the long-standing support of the Czech Republic in the efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem, on the basis of the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions’.

The Ambassador ‘expressed his appreciation for his excellent cooperation with the House of Representatives, underlining his will and intention to continue to contribute to the further strengthening of relations and exchanges between the Czech and Cypriot parliaments at all levels’, it adds. Nemec reaffirmed his country’s firm principled position regarding the Cyprus problem and the efforts to resolve it, in accordance with the relevant UN Resolutions, wishing for the reunification of the island it said.

He also briefed the House President on the current political developments in his country, following the recent parliamentary elections. They also exchanged views on issues of European interest in view of Cyprus’ Presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 January 2026, the statement concludes.

Cyprus is among the European Union countries where employees work the longest hours, according to the latest Eurostat data for the second quarter of 2025. Specifically, 16.6% of employees aged 20-64 worked more than 45 hours per week. This percentage places Cyprus among the highest in the EU, where the average stands at just 10.8%.

At the European level, Cyprus follows only Greece (20.9%) and precedes Malta (14.6%), while the lowest rates were recorded in Bulgaria (2.5%), Latvia (4.1%), and Romania (5.9%). These figures highlight the differences in working conditions among member states, with Cyprus standing out for its long working hours.

Meanwhile, 72.3% of employees in the EU work between 20 and 44 hours per week, while part-time employment (up to 19 hours) is more widespread in countries such as the Netherlands (26.8%) and Denmark (25.5%).

The data are based on the EU Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) and cover the total number of working hours, including overtime, in both primary and potential secondary employment.

MED9 Ministers of Agriculture signed a Joint Declaration on Building Agricultural Resilience in the Mediterranean region during a meeting they had in Slovenia.

The Ministers of Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain reaffirmed their strong commitment to stepping up joint efforts to create a resilient, sustainable, and climate-adapted agricultural sector in the Mediterranean region, fully aligned with the European Green Deal, the EU Climate Adaptation Strategy, and the objectives of the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The Ministers recognized that the Mediterranean region, is one of world’s climate change hotspot, that faces increasing agricultural vulnerability due to climate-related and other risks. They also agreed on agriculture’s pivotal role in food security, food sovereignty, water resource management, biodiversity protection.

The Ministers in their declaration also recognized that existing European and national systems and policies remain insufficiently prepared to cope with these realities and noted the need for immediate, coordinated, and forward-looking responses across all levels of governance, integrating climate resilience into every policy field.

Moreover they stressed the need to promote a resilience-by-design approach, embedding adaptation into all relevant EU policies, including the CAP.

Cyprus Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Maria Panagiotou in press statements noted that the MED9 meeting took a decisive step for coordinated action, pointing out that our region stands at the frontline of climate change that directly impact the daily lives of our farmers, our water resources, and our food security.

She said that farmers are already operating at the edge of their viability, and it would be unfair to expect them to bear alone the financial burden of climate change or compete on an unequal footing.

“That’s why we are here for our farmers, we are here for making sure that .our farmers will have the support they need in order to continue to produce under pressing circumstances. Our Joint Declaration sends a clear message on how imperative is to have a strategic and long-term approach to risk management in agriculture,” she stressed.

She also assured that Cyprus stands firmly with its MED9 partners in calling for urgent, coordinated, and forward-looking action, not only to protect farmers today, but to secure a sustainable and resilient future for Mediterranean agriculture.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) Demetris Skourides and its Director General Theodoros Loukaidis held meetings with ‘prominent figures’ in the international field of Research and Innovation, within the framework of the Science and Technology in Society Forum 2025, which took place between 5-6 October in Kyoto, Japan, according to an RIF press release.

Among other things, it said, they exchanged views with Marcia McNutt, President of the American Academy of Sciences, on the need to redesign research evaluation systems.

They also exchanged views with Maria Leptin, President of the European Research Council, on the new EU framework programme, the budget for cutting-edge research and support actions for young scientists, as well as with Alexandra van Huffelen, President of the Executive Board of Radboud University in the Netherlands, on collaborations in areas such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence and neuroscience.

The representatives of RIF, it notes, also participated in the high-level meeting of the Research and Innovation Funding Agencies, ‘where the development of human resources with specialisation in artificial intelligence and the role of organisations in enhancing talent were discussed extensively.’

During the roundtable discussion, they exchanged good practices with Tsuyoshi Sugino, President of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Dr. Wiparat De-ong, Executive Director of the National Research Council of Thailand, Professor Alejandro Adem, President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Dr. Georg B. Schutte, Senior Executive Director of the Volkswagen Foundation, and Andre Kudelski, President of Innosuisse.

They also had brief meetings with Professor Mari Sundli Tveit, Senior Executive Director of the Research Council of Norway, Lars Hultman, Senior Executive Director of the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, Fulifhelo Nelwamondo, Senior Executive Director of NRF South Africa, and Professor Tuula Linna, President of the Finnish Academy of Sciences and Letters.

It is noted that Skourides also held brief meetings with Edward Screven, Member of the Board of Directors of Ampere Computer Holdings, Dr. Harrick Vin, Chief Technology Officer at Tata Consultancy Services, Dr. Aswani Kumar, Senior Counsel of the Supreme Court of India, Dr. Michael Stampfer, CEO of the Vienna Science and Technology Fund, Dr. Mona Nemer, Canada’s Chief Science Advisor and Dr. John Roche, Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of New Zealand.

The RIF representatives also attended lectures and participated in discussions on academia-business cooperation, retraining in the era of Artificial Intelligence, the application of artificial intelligence solutions in the public sector and green energy, the announcement concludes.

More than one thousand participants from thirty-five countries, including heads of state, ?inisters, regulators, shipowners and senior industry figures, participated in the first day of the deliberations of the Maritime Cyprus 2025 Conference that opened on Monday in the coastal town of Limassol.

Having as its main theme ‘Unlocking the Future of Shipping’, the conference is organised by the Shipping Deputy Ministry, the Cyprus Union of Shipowners and the Cyprus Shipping Chamber, the CSC says in a press release on Tuesday.

It adds that a special ministerial panel, ‘Ministers at the Helm of Maritime Transformation,’ expanded the day’s discussions to a regional level. The panel brought together Dr. Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Vasilis Kikilias, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy of Greece, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Thani, Minister of Transport of the State of Qatar and Marina Hadjimanolis, Shipping Deputy Minister to the President of the Republic of Cyprus.

The discussion focused on policy coordination, investment in human capital, and innovation as essential drivers of maritime transformation.

The Ministers, it adds, called for stronger regional cooperation on safety, efficiency, and digitalization, agreeing that global challenges such as decarbonization and seafarer shortages can only be addressed through collective action.

The first industry panel of the day, ‘Navigating Disruption: Steering the Shipping Industry Through Global Turbulences,’ examined how shipowners and policymakers are responding to shifting market, regulatory, and geopolitical pressures. The final discussion of the day, ‘Navigating Changes: Shipowners’ Insights on Industry Evolution,’ brought together leading shipowners from Greece and Cyprus for a candid exchange on the future of shipping.

Adding a national policy perspective, George Papanastasiou, Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry of Cyprus, addressed the panel to draw parallels between maritime and energy policy. According to the press release, he noted that Europe’s Green Deal, while well-intentioned, has at times advanced faster than technological capability, impacting competitiveness across industries. Moreover, he argued that Europe must retain all available energy options, including oil, gas, renewables, nuclear, and coal, to ensure affordability and energy security.

‘Energy and competitiveness go hand in hand,’ he said, warning that transitions made without viable alternatives risk deepening inequality. His remarks were widely welcomed by the panel as a realistic and inclusive approach to the challenges ahead, the press release concludes.

Meanwhile, a press release by the Cyprus Shipping Chamber says that it organised, on the opening day of the ‘Maritime Cyprus 2025’ Conference a high-level panel discussion titled ‘Navigating Disruption: Steering the Shipping Industry Through Global Turbulences.’

The discussion was moderated by Thomas A. Kazakos, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and featured distinguished speakers from leading international shipowners’ organisations, including Themis Papadopoulos, Member of the Board and former Vice-Chairman of the ICS, Karin Orsel, President of the European Shipowners (ECSA), Ioanna Procopiou, President Designate of the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) and Joe Kramek, President and CEO of the World Shipping Council (WSC).

The panel focused on the major challenges currently facing the global shipping industry, including the transition to decarbonisation, geopolitical uncertainties and increasing regulatory complexity. Speakers exchanged views on how shipowners and leading shipping organisations are adapting to an evolving landscape while maintaining operational efficiency and competitiveness, it says.