Let me first of all thank the Rector of the University of Piraeus Professor Michael Sfakianakis, the Chairman of the Department of International and European Studies Professor Aristotle Tziabiris, as well as all the members of the University of Piraeus for the extremely honourable distinction of awarding the title of Honorary Doctorate of the Department of International and European Studies of the University of Piraeus.
It is with feelings of special honour and deepest appreciation that I accept this distinction, which I perceive as an honour to the institution of the highest political official of the Republic of Cyprus, the President of the Republic of Cyprus. Through this, the distinction is also perceived as love and respect to the Cypriot people themselves.
I am also deeply touched because the honour comes from the University of Piraeus. An institution that for 85 years of uninterrupted presence and contribution to the educational life of Greece, has served with reverence and in full the purpose of its foundation: The promotion of letters and sciences in a country that has historically been the birthplace and starting point of free thought, research, education, democracy and evolution. It is only through the promotion of research, education and the cultivation of critical thinking that we make a decisive contribution to strengthening and releasing the potential of the human potential of a society, and especially of the New Generation in which we all invest, and I am well aware that the University of Piraeus plays a very important role in this vital field.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the special links between Cyprus and the University of Piraeus, which is located on a street that bears the name of two heroes who wrote their names in indelible letters in the pantheon of Cypriot history. Michael Karaoli and Andreas Demetriou, the first two to be hanged in the national liberation struggle of EOKA 1955-1959 to throw off the British yoke and unite Cyprus with Greece.
The University of Piraeus has honoured in the past and continues to honour today prominent members of the academic community of Cypriot origin. Moreover, the wider society of Cyprus has benefited, and we should point this out, from the University of Piraeus, as every year a large number of Cypriot students join and graduate from it, who, by returning to Cyprus, enrich their knowledge and education and contribute to the prosperity and future of the country. I also welcome the fact that the University of Piraeus maintains excellent cooperation with University Institutions in Cyprus, which I am sure will be further strengthened.
From its foundation in 1938, then as the "School of Industrial Studies", to its evolution today into an internationally recognized and renowned institution, covering a wide range of fields and studies, the University of Piraeus demonstrates in practice its ability to evolve and adapt, listening and understanding not only the needs of the local society, but also the developments at regional, European and international level. An ability that is particularly important in today's world, not only for states, but also for any academic institution aiming at excellence.
Responding to a need of the time, after a correct reading of European and international developments, as well as the interdependence that was now clearly emerging between economy, geostrategy, society and state brought about by globalization, your University decided in 2000 to establish the Department of International and European Studies. The data, as they had been shaped after the end of the Cold War at regional and international level, especially globalization and the pursuit by non-state actors of a more prominent role in global developments, made it an obvious necessity to understand and analyze, at an academic level, what is happening around us, in our region and internationally. There was a need, and rightly pointed out and addressed, to move away from one-dimensional approaches, and to contribute to the correct interpretation of the new regional, European and international events and their protagonists, while remaining relevant and topical. In this new era, the new millennium, where the interaction of states, the role of the European Union, of which Greece was already a member while Cyprus was looking forward to joining, higher education institutions should evolve, offering young people more opportunities so that they can become shareholders and participants in a community of more modern learning, thorough and scientific analysis of developments in Greece, Europe and internationally so that they can contribute as young scientists and professionals to the progress of the country. "Never leave it at that". Everything is fluid and nothing stays the same. What the philosopher expressed was that constant movement and change is the fundamental characteristic of reality, therefore we who pursue progress should be first and foremost good readers of developments, knowledgeable and flexible in order to transform new data into new opportunities for knowledge, acquisition and improvement. This is what your University offered with the creation of the Department in 2000, opening a new, additional window of free academic knowledge to students, scholars, politicians who either like or ought to continuously enrich their knowledge and training on European and international issues. For this, congratulations are due to all those who have been inspired and worked for this Department.
As you may know, I have personally been blessed to dedicate a short, extremely beneficial part of my life to academia, having the honour to serve as a Special Scientist and Lecturer in the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Cyprus.
As you may know, I have been personally blessed to dedicate a short, extremely beneficial part of my life to academia, having the honour to serve as a Special Scientist and Lecturer in the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Cyprus. I have had the honour to establish collegial and friendly relationships with many Greek academics and to participate in conferences and academic meetings. I deeply value and find it absolutely essential that leaders invest in the role of the academic community and it is something I will faithfully serve during my tenure.
Having the same or similar academic background as many of those present here today, I have found over time and as long as the requisite maturity has occurred that only wise time and work and experience bring to a person, that the marriage of philosophy and practice, of study, academic study and practical experience in similar professions or qualities and offices, can be highly beneficial to society as a whole and to the state. This could not be said better than the way my friend, the academic and politician Angelos Syrigos, so characteristically captured it when he introduced one of my books by pointing out: "According to Plato, the ideal polity is one in which either philosophers or kings will rule the states... they will engage in philosophy, genuinely and worthily, so that political power and philosophy coincide in the same person." And Plato establishes from antiquity the benefit of the association of spirit, science, study, deep knowledge on a subject with political power, the exercise of authority for the public good. For this reason, I believe and invest in the collaboration of the academic community with public participants and in the decision-making process that shapes and affects the life of the whole, recognizing that the interaction of two seemingly different and distant worlds is always not only mutually beneficial, but more importantly offers the excellent and the good for society.
Those who are aware of a subject, you, the experts, the scientists, can contribute significantly, constructively, with your deep study, analysis, criticism to the decisions of political officials, assisting the often difficult and arduous work of those involved in political decision-making. In addition, encouraging, through curricula, undergraduate and postgraduate, organizing conferences and training activities, the participation not only of students but also of professionals, public servants and officials, from academic institutions such as yours, but also the involvement in the practice of diplomacy or politics of more academics, will help to ensure that what Plato considers ideal, and what Syringos sees so flatteringly, "in principle" in my person because of my academic and professional career, will happen more often. That is to say, to coincide in the same person "force te politics and philosophy" for the benefit of the ideal, democratic state of today.
It is generally accepted that we are at a political, economic and social crossroads. We are living through a peculiar period at the international level, within a globalised environment with many different actors and protagonists beyond state entities.
In recent years we have been confronted with many challenges of a different nature. Economic crisis, food crisis, wars, civil strife, terrorism, alarming effects of climate change, asymmetric threats, fundamentalist, religious and other conflicts, refugee and migrant flows, increasing xenophobia. Challenges that cross borders and know no nationalities and state entities. The shaping of the international environment today highlights traditional concepts and their importance in international relations such as geostrategy, economics and geography. The challenges require reliable states, capable actors and added value regardless of size and real power, flexibility, strong alliances, axes, synergies.
Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing occupation, the second in Europe after World War II since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, added to the political, economic and social consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. And these effects today directly threaten the security and stability of the European territory.
And while one would expect that the many challenges I mentioned above would lead to a strengthening of cooperation between states, there is a tendency - at least by a number of states - towards a political introversion approach, according to which the response to today's challenges can be more effective by activating self-protection reflexes which, by implication, lead to unilateral measures and policies.
And while one would expect that the many challenges I mentioned above would lead to a strengthening of cooperation between states, there is - at least by a number of states - a tendency towards a political introversion approach, according to which the response to today's challenges can be more effective by activating self-protection reflexes which, by implication, lead to unilateral measures and policies. At the same time, the conventional and largely timeless rules of the international system are being challenged, leading to an even more unpredictable and volatile international scene characterised by revisionism, the creation of security gaps and the adoption of policies of commercial over-protectionism.
However, Ladies and Gentlemen, I strongly believe that these approaches do not solve the problems, since even if there are benefits and successes, they can only provide occasional short-term relief. My assessment is that these approaches fail to provide comprehensive, comprehensive, sustainable, durable and long-term solutions to today's challenges.
Being a lover of history, which is mainly in the field of Political Science and International Relations, where I was academically immersed, with personal practice for years in diplomacy and in communication, which today is not only a tool but also part of politics itself and the results it brings, I have learned, when seeking solutions to contemporary political issues, to turn to history, from which I always draw useful lessons. And this almost always confirms to me that in the effort to face challenges and find solutions, a great tool is the pursuit of more cooperation, meaningful dialogue, collective action and extroversion.
I take advantage of my presence today at the University of Piraeus to share with you my own vision of how Cyprus, an occupied member state of the European Union with a specific geography, history and power factors, could best act in the existing international system, through the use of the European Union and the European Union. The Turkish invasion of 1974 and the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union in 2004.
The events of the 1974 Turkish invasion and their tragic consequences, which continue to this day, have essentially shaped Cyprus' foreign policy in only the second decade of its independent life. This was to be expected, given the magnitude of the consequences of the Turkish invasion, with over 37% of the country's territory placed and still under military occupation, over 200,000 people forcibly displaced from their land and property, and Turkey's orchestrated effort to erode the demographic, cultural and religious character of the occupied areas and to challenge at international level even the very existence of the Republic of Cyprus.
An island of less than 10,000 square kilometres had no choice, after the brute imposition of force by the invader, but to manage a national problem of disproportionate proportions to its size, available means and capabilities, essentially without external assistance.
Therefore, Cyprus' foreign policy from 1974 onwards, with its scarce resources, was almost exclusively focused on dealing with the tragic consequences of 1974, defending and preserving its statehood internationally, along with pursuing the goal of ending the occupation and reunification of the island.
The search for a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem was therefore almost the only priority of our foreign policy for many years. It was, after all, the pursuit of this objective that led to the application for membership of the European Economic Community in the summer of 1990, which 14 years later led to full membership of the EU. And it was this historic moment, in the realization of which Greece played a very important role and was inspired by our own Yannos Kranidiotis, which is, in my opinion, the most important diplomatic success, a historic milestone, in modern Cypriot history.
Coming to the current circumstances, with the solution of the Cyprus problem remaining the number one priority of the Cypriot government, as a new administration, we are at the same time focusing on a strategic approach in relation to our foreign policy.
Coming to the current circumstances, with the solution of the Cyprus problem remaining the number one priority of the Cypriot government, as a new administration, we are at the same time focusing on a strategic approach in relation to our foreign policy.
From the first day of assuming the presidency, and previously during my tenure as Foreign Minister, the effort is to move from a unilateral foreign policy to a diverse, multi-thematic, more outward-looking and modern policy, which will exploit the specific characteristics and added value of Cyprus, aiming, among other things, to strengthen its geostrategic role, promoting a vision for the region that will serve, among others, the EU. Such a multi-thematic approach, alongside efforts to rebuild the state and strengthen all its components of strength (economy, social cohesion, justice sectors), we believe that it will also have a beneficial effect on Cyprus' reunification efforts.
Within this framework, three main pillars have been defined in our foreign policy.
The first concerns the strengthening of our relations with countries in our immediate neighbourhood, the Eastern Mediterranean and the wider Gulf region. By further cultivating our historically very good relations with our neighbours, we are working methodically to substantially deepen our ties and cooperation. Our actions are aimed at realizing a long-term vision for the region as well as drawing benefits for the good of each country, hence synergies in many areas such as security, energy, trade, tourism and culture. Strengthening bilateral relations with mutually beneficial actions and multilateral synergies form long-term alliances that are highly beneficial for our national cause as well.
There is perhaps no better example that reflects in practice the implementation of the first pillar of our foreign policy than the regional cooperation mechanisms that we have established, together with Greece, with countries in the region, such as Egypt, Israel, Jordan, the UAE, Lebanon and Palestine. It was the energy context that initially acted as the unifying link to bring the countries together, however, due to the mutual recognition of the benefits of such actions, especially in today's changing and fluid international environment, with its multiple challenges, cooperation has now expanded to a number of other areas such as security, education, environment, climate change and innovation.
And I strongly believe that the cooperation that has developed in the region has also created a momentum that could in time lead to the creation of a regional security and cooperation organization, when political conditions allow. In fact, the Eastern Mediterranean is one of the few regions where such an organisation does not exist. This organisation will be open to all States in the region, without exclusion, and its operation will be based on a positive approach, subject only to respect for international law and a commitment to good neighbourly relations.
The establishment of the Energy Forum in Cairo, with the participation of States in the region and beyond, is a first sign. A development that no one could have imagined a few years earlier.
The second pillar of our foreign policy concerns the more active participation of Cyprus in EU affairs, and more specifically, in issues that are not exclusively related to the Cyprus and/or Euro-Turkish issues. It is a fact that for a long time after our accession, our interventions in Brussels were mainly limited to issues related to the Cyprus problem and Turkey. We are now working methodically to have a meaningful intervention in Brussels on a number of issues where Cyprus can have a strong added value in the discussions that take place so that it can also benefit and defend and promote the interests of its citizens.
An indicative example is our ability to bring the Eastern Mediterranean perspective to the EU and to demonstrate in practice the role of a bridge between Brussels and the countries of the wider region. We can only ensure this, for the benefit of our citizens and our neighbours, through an active, credible, multi-thematic intervention in Brussels and in all key institutions, always within our capabilities.
By highlighting in this context the importance and added value of the Republic of Cyprus for the EU and by moving away from a unilateral approach, we enhance the prestige and importance of our country.
At the same time, it allows us to claim a more active role and involvement of the European Union in the efforts to solve the Cyprus problem as well as in the content of the solution, taking into account the fact that the Union has multiple tools, the use of which can lead to a mutually beneficial state of affairs for all parties involved. It is no coincidence, moreover, that in the latest attempt to resolve the Cyprus problem, for the first time in the history of the negotiations since they first began in 1976, convergences were achieved which were clearly better than any results achieved in previous negotiating processes. It was the first time, for example, that we succeeded in discussing the fundamental chapter of security and guarantees. The third pillar of our foreign policy relates to strengthening our relations with the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, as well as other powerful actors on the international scene. With regard to the five permanent members of the Security Council, we are working, in particular with the United States and France, to build a more substantive relationship and broaden the agenda of our discussions beyond the Cyprus issue, strengthening an institutionalized and evolving strategic cooperation in all areas. Through this process, among other things, the role that Cyprus can play in what is admittedly a region of particular strategic importance is being highlighted, and slowly Cyprus is beginning to secure its own benefits through these partnerships.
In addition to the aforementioned pillars, we are also working towards the use of "soft power" foreign policy instruments. These include, among others, cultural diplomacy, gender mainstreaming in our foreign policy, as well as economic diplomacy. All of these have a reinforcing effect on our other actions and on the pursuit of our most important objectives.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The three pillars of our foreign policy aim, as I mentioned earlier, among other things, to enhance Cyprus' regional importance, to further strengthen its status at European and international level and to promote it as a State that, far from taking a unilateral approach, is able, in today's changing environment, to contribute, always within its capabilities, to addressing multiple challenges. The achievement of this objective will undoubtedly strengthen our efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am strongly convinced that the present state of affairs in Cyprus cannot be the solution to the Cyprus problem. The unacceptable, illegal, status quo is day by day causing new fait accompli that further complicates the resolution efforts. Cyprus still has thousands of refugees, hundreds of missing persons, and we must not forget for a moment that it is the only state in the European Union where European citizens, especially Cypriot European citizens, are deprived of their basic freedoms and human rights that are, in fact, at the core of the acquis, such as the freedoms of movement, establishment, work, property and so many others.
The highest priority and the main objective of my administration, naturally and self-evidently, is to break the deadlock and resume negotiations with a view to finding a comprehensive solution on the basis of a bizonal bicommunal federation, with one sovereignty, one citizenship, one international personality, in accordance with United Nations resolutions, the European acquis and the principles and values on which the European Union is founded.
A solution that makes Cyprus a normal and functioning state, without dependencies, without any anachronistic guarantees and without occupying troops. With a constitutional framework that allows the State and its citizens, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots and all legal residents, to live in conditions of prosperity, security, mutual understanding and mutual compromise and, above all, in conditions of respect and implementation of human rights for all.
For me, the effort for a solution is a one-way street. The division of Cyprus is an anomaly that deprives Cypriots of the prospect of real and long-term prosperity and is a blow to the development of the international and European system of justice and the application of human rights.
The resolution of the Cyprus problem, therefore, at a time when some are turning their backs on multilateralism, choosing isolationism, in an uncertain period at the international level, will be a very positive development, not only for Cyprus but also for the wider region, as well as for the EU.
Madam President,
Mr. Rector,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In conclusion, I thank you warmly for the opportunity you have given me to share with you some of my thoughts and my general vision for the foreign policy of the Republic of Cyprus, which I hope will also serve to strengthen the effort to resolve the Cyprus problem.
I am particularly moved by my honorary appointment today. I thank you from the bottom of my heart both for the very act of being named, which demonstrates your Foundation's love for Cyprus and its people, and for the opportunity to address such a remarkable audience here in Piraeus, at the beginning of the new administration, which I hope, and for which I will work hard, will bring to Cyprus better days, hope, perspective and prosperity for our children and our future.
I look forward to the continuation of our coexistence and cooperation that will allow the coexistence of what Plato considers the ideal, politics and philosophy, for the benefit of the public interest and our citizens that those of us involved in public affairs have chosen to serve.
Thank you.
(AΦ)
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