The government is placing particular emphasis on the integration of migrants who are legally residing in Cyprus and is drafting a strategic plan to this end, deputy minister for migration Nicolas Ioannides said on Friday.

Addressing a conference on the issue titled “Expanding Structures and Policies for Intercultural Integration in Cyprus”, the deputy minister said the in integration of the migrants was not only a social challenge but also an opportunity to “build a community based on mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation, in a way that ensures both social cohesion and public order and national security”.

In his speech, which was read on his behalf by the director of his office, Lambros Kaoullas, the deputy minister said Friday’s meeting marked an important milestone for evaluating and presenting the achievements of a project whose central goal was to empower local communities, expand cooperation with migrant organisations, and strengthen integration through innovative actions.

This project, which started at the end of 2023 and concluded on Friday, was funded by the European Commission and implemented by the Council of Europe in cooperation with the migration department.

The programme aimed to support and expand the integration structures created during the 2021-2023 period, as part of a previous project also funded by the European Commission.

Among other things, the project concerns the operation of local intercultural integration networks in the five districts. The intercultural networks, Ioannides said, were structures for cooperation between the state, local authorities, and civil society organisations, which played a coordinating role with the state.

Some of the key elements highlighted during the project, he noted, include the central role of local government in the integration policies into communities as well as the importance of cooperation between the state, local government, and civil society organisations.

“Cyprus is a country with a long history and culture, at the geographical crossroads of three continents, influenced by significant population movements throughout the centuries. Therefore, there is a tradition of peaceful coexistence of Cypriots with other peoples,” he said.