Public Consultation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
on humanitarian affairs
In view of the participation of the Republic of Cyprus to the
Regional Consultation of Budapest in preparation of the World Humanitarian
Summit, the third public consultation on the “International Humanitarian
Conference: Cyprus’ contribution to the reshaping of the international
humanitarian system” was held today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The public consultation was attended, inter alia, by representatives
of Non-Governmental Organizations, Cyprus Civil Defense ,
academics and students from private and public institutions.
In his opening remarks, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Ioannis
Kasoulides, stressed the importance of volunteerism in tackling humanitarian
needs, considering the human and economic factors as equally significant.
According to Minister Kasoulides, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs aims at
enhancing the political dimension of its humanitarian action, at European and
international level. Towards this goal, cooperation between state agencies and
civil society is of vital importance, especially regarding the forming of the
views and positions that Cyprus will present at the upcoming regional
consultations as well as at the World Humanitarian Summit.
The participants had the opportunity to convey their opinions and
suggestions on the aforementioned issues. In addition, the representatives of
the Civil Society, inter alia, presented their activities, examined best
practices for more efficient and targeted humanitarian aid and proposed concrete
ideas that could facilitate the formulation of the official Cyprus position to
be presented in international fora. Finally, the participants stated their
readiness to continue the current constructive cooperation with the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs in all aspects.
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