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The President of the Republic of Cyprus is in Brussels to participate in the EU-African Union Summit which starts this afternoon and will last for two days.
Yesterday, however, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, convened an extraordinary European Council to discuss the latest developments in the Ukrainian crisis. In particular, the discussion will focus on the latest diplomatic efforts and reaffirm the EU's unity and support for the diplomatic track and towards further de-escalation.
President Anastasiades will also take part in this extraordinary meeting together with his European counterparts. His intention is to express satisfaction at the signs of de-escalation observed in the last 24 hours but also to call for the continuation of diplomatic efforts and discussions in the Normandy format.
I now return to the Summit which will be attended by the 27 leaders of the EU Member States and the 55 leaders of the African Union countries.
The aim of the Summit is to lay the foundations for a renewed and deeper partnership between the two parties based on trust and an understanding of their mutual interests, as well as to agree on an investment package for the coming years that will contribute to the development of African infrastructure in the areas of health, climate change and the economy.
The Summit also aims to find solutions to promote peace, stability and security and to fight terrorism in Africa.
Today, the President of the Republic will participate in a round table discussion on "Peace, Security and Governance" and will mention, among other things, that Africa and Europe are natural partners in the fields of peace and security. A prosperous, peaceful and resilient Africa is a key objective for both continents and therefore ways should be found to improve EU-Africa cooperation and build a renewed peace and security architecture guided by the vision of supporting a rules-based international order with the United Nations at its core.
Tomorrow, the President will address a panel on migration, and will argue for EU assistance to Africa to create employment opportunities for African youth and to strengthen the effective border management of African countries and their capacity to fight criminal networks of traffickers. It will also refer to cases of exploitation of African migrants by traffickers, encouraged or facilitated by the Turkish authorities, who are trafficked to EU countries, including Cyprus.
In contrast to such practices, the President will explain, the EU seeks to develop cooperation with countries on the African continent, including agreements between the EU and African countries for the safe return of trafficked migrants.
In the margins of the Summit, President Anastasiades will hold a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts. For example, he will meet with the President of Egypt, the President of Ghana and the President of Kenya.
(MF/MB/SX)
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