Menendez to address overseas Cypriots conference

US Senator and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Robert Menendez, will on Thursday address World Conference of Cyprus’ Diaspora, which is continuing all day.

Thursday’s session will include a briefing on issues concerning missing persons, by the Head of Humanitarian Issues for Missing and Enclaved Persons, Anna Aristotelous, and the Representative of the Greek Cypriot side in the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP), Leonidas Pantelides.

Later, the foreign minister Constantinos Kombos, will brief the conference about foreign policy matters, while the government spokesman, Constantinos Letymbiotis, will speak about the international media and expatriates’ contribution to the promotion of the Cyprus problem.

According to the conference programme a round table discussion will follow with addresses by the ambassadors of the US, France, Israel, and the British High Commissioner in Cyprus, or their representatives.

In the afternoon, the conference participants will be briefed, in a closed session, on defence issues by the defence minister Michalis Giorgallas and the Chief of the National Guard, Lt. Gen. Demokritos Zervakis.

After that, a presentation of the work of the Cyprus Children’s Aid Committee by the honorary president of the committee and First Lady, Philippa Karsera Christodoulides, and the president of the committee, accountant-general, Andreas Antoniades.

Menendez will address the conference after 5pm after meeting President Nicos Christodouldies and before he meets House Speaker Annita Demetriou.

The conference started on Tuesday and continues until Friday.

Approximately 300 people are participating from the UK, the US, Australia, Greece, South Africa, Zimbabwe, as well as France, Austria and Luxembourg.