Statements to the Press by the
President of the Republic
after his meeting with the Prime Minister of
Estonia
Mr Prime
Minister,
First and foremost, I would like to
extend a warm welcome to you and your delegation. It is both an honour and a
pleasure to host you on our island.
Dear
Taavi,
I welcome you here, at the European
Union’s most south-eastern corner, as a friend and partner of Cyprus, who is
visiting the island officially for the first time.
Just a few moments ago, we signed an
important Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the fields of
e-Governance and Information and Communication Technologies. We hope that
through this Memorandum, Cyprus will be able to benefit from Estonia’s extensive
knowledge and know-how in electronic governance, a field in which your country
is an admirable pioneer.
I am convinced that your visit will
signal the beginning of enhanced cooperation not only in e-governance, but also
in an array of fields, including trade and education.
During our extensive and constructive
consultations, the Prime Minister and I covered a wide arrange of issues of
mutual interest, and discussed subjects of priority on the European external and
domestic agenda. We discussed our bilateral relations
and examined ways to further strengthen them.
Today’s talks presented an opportunity
to brief Prime Minister Rõivas on the latest developments in the negotiations
for a settlement of the Cyprus problem, and thank him for his country’s
principled stance.
I briefed Prime Minister Rõivas on the
important role the European Union plays in the efforts the resolve the Cyprus
problem, which is a European problem. Undoubtedly, the EU constitutes the best
safeguard and guarantee of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all
Cypriots.
The EU’s role and more active
engagement and support, which are under the auspices of the United Nations Good
Offices Mission, is of utmost importance.
Moreover, Prime Minister Rõivas and I
had a fruitful discussion on a number of global and regional issues of mutual
interest, on many of which Cyprus and Estonia see eye-to-eye.
The unprecedented humanitarian
migration crisis was high on our agenda. Cyprus and Estonia share the view that
this crisis can only be addressed if all member states demonstrate solidarity,
assume shared responsibility and address its root causes, which include the
Middle East Problem, the growing threat of ISIS, extremism, the situation in
Syria, Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan.
We also discussed the situation in
Ukraine, and we agreed that there
is no alternative to the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements, the
continuation, and intensification if needed, of the work under the existing
Normandy Format and the Trilateral Contact Group.
Concluding, I wish to thank you, Mr
Prime Minister, and your delegation, for this official visit to Cyprus. I look
forward to continuing our close co-operation and dialogue on all issues of
mutual concern.
__________
