Cyprus-USA relations at an all-time high

Relations between Cyprus and the USA are at the highest level ever, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Thursday evening.

AHEPA has worked to strengthen the relations of Cyprus with the United States, the president said, which “today are at the highest level than ever before.”

He was addressing a gala organised by the American Hellenic Progressive Organisation (AHEPA), where he said that “AHEPA has over time demonstrated an essential, very valuable work” and was a leader “in the struggles of Cyprus and […] Hellenism, abroad, and especially in the United States of America.”

Christodoulides said he spoke “from personal experience” about the organisation’s efforts on issues such as those of the missing persons, and the promotion of the Republic’s geostrategic position in the East Med and the Middle East.

The implementation of a national strategy for the diaspora contributes to the promotion of common goals in “foreign decision-making centres,” the president said, noting the importance of the expansion of action by AHEPA to countries such as Germany, Belgium and other EU states.

Christodoulides referred to the annual international AHEPA 2024 summit to be hosted in Larnaca, saying that over 3,000 delegates are expected to attend and “certainly the Republic will contribute to [its] successful organisation.”

Christodoulides stated that the decision to host the summit in Cyprus held strong symbolic value as it will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Turkish invasion.

“It is an opportunity […] to condemn the illegal Turkish invasion and occupation [and] reiterate our belief in the need to […] resolve the Cyprus issue [based on] the agreed framework, principles and values of the European Union,” he said.

The AHEPA gala was held in memory of Fotos Fotiadis, a founder of the organisation also well-known for owning Carlsberg Cyprus, described by many as the “patriarch of Cyprus business”.

The AHEPA event was held at the Presidential Palace and all net proceeds were allocated to the Elpida (Hope) foundation for children with cancer and leukaemia, and to the “Ray of Life” foundation for children with special needs.