The sad news of the passing away of former
President Glafcos Clerides, who served as the leader of Cyprus from 1993-2003,
was conveyed today to the leaders of the Commonwealth countries participating
in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2013, in Sri Lanka, by the
President of the Republic Mr Nicos Anastasiades.
The President, in an intervention on the
second day of the proceedings of the Conference, also informed the Secretariat
and the members of the Conference that he was interrupting his stay in Sri
Lanka and departing today for Cyprus following the sad news of the death of
Glafcos Clerides, a historic leader of the Republic of Cyprus.
The Secretary General of the Commonwealth,
Mr Kamalesh Sharma, conveyed condolences on behalf of the Conference and
himself, and made a special reference praising the work of the late Glafcos
Clerides as leader of a member state of the Commonwealth with a valuable
contribution to the international organization.
The President of the Republic will return
to Cyprus tomorrow morning.
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