The President of the Republic Mr.Nikos Christodoulides attended today an official lunch hosted in his honour by the President of the Hellenic Republic Mrs.Katerina Sakellaropoulou, at the Presidential Palace, as part of his first official visit to Greece, and abroad in general, after taking office as President of the Republic of Cyprus.
The President of the Republic was accompanied by his wife Mrs Philippa Karseras Christodoulides and the members of the Cypriot delegation.
On his arrival at the Presidential Palace for the official lunch, the President of the Republic signed the Visitors' Book of the Palace.
In his message, President Christodoulides wrote the following: "It is with feelings of deep emotion and appreciation that I make my first official visit to Greece. The semiotics of making the first visit of the President of the Republic of Cyprus to Greece is extremely important and is a clear signal of the level of our relations and our fraternal ties.
The award of Greece's highest decoration, the Grand Cross of the Order of the Saviour, is a special honour for me.
Please accept, Madam President, the assurance of my highest consideration and my warmest wishes for health, success in your work, and for the progress and prosperity of the Greek people."
During the lunch, President Christodoulides, in his toast, stated the following: "Let me first of all begin by conveying again the warm condolences of the Cypriot people for the tragic event for which Greece and Cyprus are mourning.
I want to thank you warmly for the hospitality, I want to thank you warmly for the consultations.
As is clear from the discussions we have had, our readiness is clear, our strong conviction to work even more, in order to improve even more our excellent relations.
And it is in this context that we have taken concrete decisions that we will implement without many public statements. What counts is the effectiveness of our actions and that is what we will focus on.
I would like once again to thank you for the honour of this commendation. It is a great honour for me which also entails obligations.
In receiving this honour on behalf of the Cypriot people, the greatest obligation is to live up to their expectations through the governance of the country."
(PM/NG/SX)
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