President Nicos Anastasiades will have important contacts with foreign leaders this week, as he will participate in two high-level Summits.
The President of the Republic will travel from Athens to Tirana, Albania, where the European Union-Western Balkans Summit will take place on 6 December. The Summit will address issues related to efforts to mitigate the impact of the war in Ukraine on the Western Balkans, including in the energy and economic sectors, as well as efforts for coordination and cooperation on migration management, cyber security, countering hybrid threats and terrorism. It is the first time that the Summit is being held in a country of the Western Balkan region as a sign of the EU's continued willingness to further strengthen its political and economic relations with the Western Balkans and to give impetus to the accession perspective of the countries in the region, amid a period of turmoil in the wider European region. In the margins of the Summit, President Anastasiades will have a meeting with the President of the Presidential Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ms Zeljika Cvijanovic.
On Friday, 9 December, at the invitation of the Prime Minister of Spain, Mr Pedro Sanchez, the President of the Republic will participate in the Summit of the Mediterranean Member States of the EU (EUMED-9) to be held in Alicante, Spain. In addition to President Anastasiades, the EUMED-9 Summit will also be attended by the leaders of Spain, Greece, France, Italy, Italy, Portugal, Malta, Croatia and Slovenia. The Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission will also attend part of the discussions. The Alicante Summit will focus on the consequences of the ongoing war in Ukraine, with a focus on the energy, economic and social challenges facing the EU, particularly the southern part of the EU, and the role that the Mediterranean countries have to play in the future of Europe. Among the other issues to be discussed are the need for security, stability and avoidance of challenges in the Mediterranean basin, the Cyprus problem, migration, the environment and green growth.
In between the two Summits, on Wednesday and Thursday, President Anastasiades will be in Cyprus, where he also has a busy schedule with important issues on his agenda. On Wednesday, December 7, the Council of Ministers will meet at 9 a.m. and at 11:15 a.m. he will receive the Annual Report of the Auditor General, Mr. Odysseus Michaelides, at the Presidential Palace. At 12 noon, President Anastasiades will attend and address a lunch with the Ambassadors of the EU Member States, organised by the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Cyprus, on the occasion of the conclusion of the Czech Presidency of the EU. At 18:00 to 20:00 in the afternoon of the same day, President Anastasiades will attend a social reception at the Ledra Palace, organised by the United Nations. The reception will be attended by UN Deputy Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General for Cyprus, Head of UNFICYP, Mr Colin Stewart and the leader of the Turkish Cypriot side, Mr Ersin Tatar, has also been invited.
On Thursday, 8 December, President Anastasiades will receive the credentials of ten new Ambassadors at the Presidential Palace.
(PM/SX)
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