The Cyprus issue, relations with the US, and Cyprus’ role in the region were among the topics students from the United States of Cypriot and Greek heritage - who are currently visiting Cyprus as part of a study trip organised by the Washington-based American Hellenic Institute (AHI), said they discussed with President Nikos Christodoulides.
President Christodoulides welcomed the students to the Presidential Palace on the morning of 29 June. During the meeting, AHI President Nick Larigakis, who accompanied the group, presented President Christodoulides with a commemorative plaque featuring the AHI's special logo marking the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States.
Following the meeting, the students were given a tour of the Presidential Palace.
This is AHI’s 18th annual Student Foreign Policy Trip aimed at educating the next generation of Greek American and Cypriot American leaders “and to make them aware on the issues of the Eastern Mediterranean that the organisation was founded for in 1974, and who’s been advocating in Washington for the last 52 years,” Larigakis said in statements to the media after the meeting.
Maria Kyriakou, from Chicago, Illinois, a student at the University of Virginia, said that meeting with the President “was so meaningful.” She said that she thought of her grandparents who are from Cyprus “and what it means for me as a Cypriot American to be here today and ask questions, geopolitical questions that are relevant not just to Cyprus but to US and service and security at a global scale.”
Lucas Koutsoukos from Milton, Connecticut, a student at Yale, said that meeting with President Christodoulides, “was a fascinating experience.” He noted that his family comes from Arcadia, Greece, but that it was “incredible to learn more about the history of Cyprus, the current geopolitical situation regarding Cyprus, Greece, United States and other countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.” He added that it was “also fascinating” to learn more about the contemporary culture of the island and learn more about the experiences that the diaspora could have both in Cyprus and in Greece.
Asked about what they asked the President, Kyriakou said she asked him about his administration’s efforts for an open dialogue with the Turkish Cypriots as regards the Cyprus issue.
Koutsoukos noted that some other questions they asked were on geostrategic relations, while they also discussed about what the diaspora can specifically do to help in Greece and Cyprus. “We as Americans are people who are very interested in our background, our history, our culture and we want to know how we can help in the United States, whether it’s helping with lobbying Congress, for instance, or just bringing more awareness to the Cyprus issue or to issues pertaining to Greece,” he said. “We want to be able to play a more active role regarding our heritage countries and their ability to compete on the European and global stages,” he added.
They said they visited Larnaca, some “particularly interesting areas” in the occupied areas, and that they were to also visit the Cyprus Centre for Land, Open Seas and Port Security (CYCLOPS).
(Source: CNA)
