House President Annita Demetriou held a series of bilateral meetings in Rome on Thursday on the sidelines of the Conference of Speakers of the Parliaments of the Council of Europe Member States, according to an announcement by the House of Representatives.
Demetriou met separately with UK House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Hungarian National Assembly Speaker Ágnes Forsthoffer, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and Italian Chamber of Deputies President Lorenzo Fontana.
Cyprus issue discussed with UK speaker
During talks with Hoyle, discussions focused on interparliamentary relations and prospects for strengthening cooperation, particularly in the fields of education, trade and business.
Demetriou also referred to efforts to resume negotiations on the Cyprus issue, stressing the role the United Kingdom could play as a guarantor power.
According to the House statement, Hoyle reiterated Britain's commitment to a fair and comprehensive settlement based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation.
The two sides also discussed UK-EU relations, as well as security and defence challenges facing Europe.
Closer parliamentary cooperation with Hungary
During her meeting with Forsthoffer, both sides expressed a willingness to deepen bilateral cooperation, particularly through more frequent parliamentary exchanges.
Demetriou also thanked Hungary for what the statement described as its principled position on the Cyprus issue.
Talks with Israel focus on GSI
In discussions with Amir Ohana, the two sides highlighted the strong level of cooperation between Cyprus and Israel, including the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) electricity project.
They also stressed the importance of strengthening Cyprus-Greece-Israel trilateral cooperation at parliamentary level to address common regional challenges.
Ohana reportedly said Israel attaches particular importance to its relationship with Cyprus as a neighbouring friendly country.
Support for Georgia's European path
Meeting Shalva Papuashvili, Demetriou briefed her counterpart on developments in the Cyprus issue and thanked Georgia for its support.
The two also discussed international developments and emphasised the need for national parliaments to support the peaceful resolution of disputes in line with international and European law.
Demetriou expressed the House's readiness to support Georgia's European aspirations, drawing on Cyprus' own accession experience.
Cyprus issue raised with Italian counterpart
During talks with Lorenzo Fontana, Demetriou described Turkey's continued military occupation of Cyprus as a European issue affecting the EU's security, territorial integrity and fundamental principles.
Fontana expressed support for efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue and noted the historic ties between Cyprus and Italy.
Both sides also stressed the need for a consistent international response to violations of international law.
Chairing conference session
Demetriou also chaired part of the final session of the conference's second thematic section, which focused on artificial intelligence and the labour market.
Source: CNA
