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- Ελληνικά
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign and European Affairs and Chairman of the Cyprus-Lebanon Friendship Group in the House of Representatives, Mr. Harris Georgiades, met today with the member of the Lebanese National Assembly, Mr. Elias Hankach, who is visiting Cyprus.
During the meeting, the historical ties that link Cyprus and Lebanon were noted and the common challenges that the two neighbouring countries face due to their geography were highlighted.
Georgiades underlined that part of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus has been illegally occupied by Turkey for fifty years and that, in addition to the illegal colonisation of the occupied territories and Turkey's instrumentalisation of the migration issue through the buffer zone, Cyprus is facing increasing migratory pressure by sea. He stressed that among the Member States of the European Union, Cyprus receives the highest number of asylum seekers in proportion to its population.
Expressing full understanding for the difficulties faced by his friend country, Georgiades noted that it is very important to inform and raise awareness of the international community and especially the EU about the situation in Lebanon and the need to take immediate action to further support Lebanon in order to be able to manage this challenge and to stem the migration flows from its shores to Cyprus.
Mr Hankach expressed Lebanon's appreciation for the assistance and support provided by Cyprus, as the closest EU Member State to Lebanon. In this context, he briefed Mr Georgiades on the internal situation in Lebanon and the difficulty for his country to manage the migratory pressures disproportionate to its population, noting that Lebanon has the highest density of refugees and migrants in the world, with serious implications for the security and stability of the country.
Subsequently, views were exchanged on possible ways of cooperation and possibly joint actions at parliamentary level in this direction.
(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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