Georgian Cathedral to be built in Cyprus, President Anastasiades says During Historic Visit in Tbilisi
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, April 18
President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades, who is the first president of the country to visit Georgia during the 27 years of diplomatic relations, says that the Georgian orthodox cathedral will be built in his country on the plot of land gifted to Georgia, where the ruins of the Georgian church were discovered years ago.
“We enjoy centuries-old ties. Georgians appeared in Cyprus in the 10th century. They built a monastery in Paphos, in 1571, it was abandoned after being raided on,” Anastasiades told the Georgian President in Tbilisi.
“We have held negotiations and the ruins of this church were found during the archaeological excavations. In order to celebrate our centuries-old relationship, Cyprus has handed over a plot of land to Georgia,” he stated.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili and Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze stated that Georgia and Cyprus have “excellent political relations,” while the economic cooperation still needs to be strengthened.
They stated that the Georgian Cypriot economic forum held today will play its role for the enhancement of trade-economic ties.
Georgian PM Bakhtadze and Anastasiades agreed on taking steps to ease the lives of migrant workers.
Three agreements have been signed in Tbilisi during the visit, in the field of healthcare and medicine, exchange of classified information and in the agriculture.
Georgian officials stated that Cyprus, which is the EU-member state, is able to share its experience with Georgia.
They also stated that the experience of Cyprus for cave-cities, tourism and technologies will also be helpful.
President Zurabishvili spoke about the occupation problem both countries face and stated that conflicts should be resolved only peacefully.
