On the initiative of the Armenian National Committee of Cyprus and the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy, a Cypriot delegation representing the city of Strovolos is currently visiting the Republic of Artsakh. The delegation is headed by the Mayor of the city Andreas Papacharalambous.

Members of the Cypriot delegation in Artsakh include: Anna Karydi, Irini Violari, Marios Hadjivasiliou, Marios Andreou and Panayiotis Manoli from the City Council. Strovolos is the second biggest municipality in Cyprus. Hagop Kazandjian, chair of ANC Cyprus, Raffi Mahdessian member of ARF committee of Cyprus and Kaspar Karampetian, the President of EAFJD are accompanying the delegation.

On September 26, the delegation was received by the Republic of Artsakh’s President Bako Sahakayan, who elaborated on the determination of Artsakh to enhance ties with Cyprus and its different administrative units. The sides discussed ways of developing bilateral relations.

Earlier, the delegation had been received by the Mayor of Stepanakert, Suren Grigoryan. The future cooperation in the cultural and education fields was the main subject of the discussion. The delegation also met with Artsakh’s Minister of Culture, Youth Affairs and Tourism, , Lernik Hovhannisyan, and visited the “HALO Trust” – an international demining organization in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Commenting on the visit, the President of ANC Cyprus Hagop Kazandjian stated: “The Armenian National Committee of Cyprus praises the visit of the Mayor of Strovolos to Artsakh as a successful initiative. It is just the beginning of a close cooperation involving various areas that, hopefully, will expand”.

EAFJD President Kaspar Karampetian said, “This visit became a reality thanks to the excellent work of our colleagues in Cyprus, and it is good news for the bilateral relations between Cyprus and Artsakh. As always, the goal is to build new bridges and develop people-to-people ties, in order to fight against the isolation imposed by Azerbaijan on the people Artsakh.”

The delegation is expected to meet the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh Ashot Ghoulian, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Masis Mayilyan, and other political representatives of the Republic of Artsakh and Republic of Armenia.

http://asbarez.com/186146/mayor-of-strovolos-cyprus-pays-an-official-visit-to-artsakh/