Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 08-05-12

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] CYPRIOT HOUSE SPEAKER ATHENS OFFICIAL VISIT

[02] MINISTER OF EDUCATION - INTERVIEW WITH CNA

[01] CYPRIOT HOUSE SPEAKER ATHENS OFFICIAL VISIT

Karoyan was received yesterday at the Athens airport by the Greek Speaker, who expressed Greeces support towards the efforts for reuniting Cyprus, divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third.

Greece supports the efforts of the Cypriot people for reaching a viable and functional solution that would reunite the island according to the UN decisions and the EU principles, Sioufas said, welcoming his Cypriot counterpart at the Athens airport.

The Cypriot Speaker thanked Sioufas for the invitation to visit Greece as the first official visit abroad and for the warm welcome and praised Sioufas longstanding support towards Cyprus.

He also expressed the gratitude of the Cypriot people to the government and the people of Greece.

We express once more our deep gratitude towards the Greek Parliament, the political powers, the government and the people of Greece, Karoyan said.

They both referred to the excellent relations between the two Parliaments and noted that there is strong will on both sides to further enhance those relations and look for new fields of cooperation.

The new fields of cooperation include parliamentary diplomacy, better coordination of actions on behalf of the two parliaments in international fora, as well as cooperation in promoting the Greek culture.

Karoyan said he hoped that by Tuesday they would be able to announce the decisions they may reach concerning the above actions.

Earlier, in statements at the Larnaca airport before departing for Athens, Karoyan referred to the Cyprus issue, noting that what is important is the content of the Cyprus solution that would be reached and not any timeframes set by others.

A Cyprus solution, he said, should be based on the High Level Agreements 1977, 1979, the UN resolutions, as well as the EU principles and values.

The Cypriot Speaker was also invited to comment on press reports according to which foreign powers would like the Cyprus process, which began April, to be concluded by March next year, so that a new referendum for rejecting or approving the Cyprus solution can take place.

What is important is the content of the solution and not the timeframes set by others, Karoyan stressed.

He wished that substantive progress is achieved at the bicommunal teams which have been set up to prepare the ground for substantive negotiations between the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities, noting however that the work achieved so far at the technical committees and the working teams is not encouraging.

The Turkish side, he pointed out, continues to follow an intransigent stance, wants to change the basis of the negotiations and bring back the Annan plan, which was rejected by the overwhelming majority of the Greek Cypriots in 2004.

I hope things change in the next weeks so that substantive progress is achieved, he concluded.

[02] MINISTER OF EDUCATION - INTERVIEW WITH CNA

In an interview with CNA, following his recent appointment to the post, he said there is a need for wide-ranging changes to be introduced as part of educational reforms to help modernise state schools, at primary and secondary level.

The modernisation of education, a better evaluation of educational work and training of teachers will be backbone of these reforms relating to the Ministrys five-year policy, the Minister explained.

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