Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 12-02-13

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

CONTENTS

[01] Cyprus and Lebanon to construct EUROPA Cable System

[01] Cyprus and Lebanon to construct EUROPA Cable System

The agreement was ratified earlier on Monday by Chairman of Cyta`s Board of Directors Stathis Kittis and the Lebanese Minister, who said that the negotiations had gone well, adding that there are still some minor points that need to be followed up together.

He also stressed that the agreement needs to be approved by the Lebanese Council of Ministers in order to finalise it.

Speaking to the press following the meeting held at the Ministry of Communications, Flourentzou expressed hope that the negotiations between the two parties would be concluded soon.

With this agreement, he noted, Cyprus becomes a telecommunications bridge between Lebanon and Europe, and Lebanon becomes a bridge between Cyprus and Asia.

The Minister said that during their meeting they also had the opportunity to exchange views on other issues of common interest with a view to further strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.

Sehnaoui thanked the Minister for the warm welcome and added that ``the round of negotiations went very well and we are close to an agreement.``

He noted that Cyprus-Lebanon cooperation in this field, as in other fields as well, is in the interest of both countries.

In conclusion, Sehnaoui referred to the historical ties between Cyprus and Lebanon.

The Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (Cyta) and the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications have ratified an agreement for the construction of a submarine fiber optic cable system between Cyprus and Lebanon, named EUROPA.

EUROPA is expected to be a repeaterless submarine cable with at least 8 fibre-pairs that will be interconnected with ALEXANDROS subsystem to provide connectivity to European destinations and beyond, forming a telecommunications bridge between the Middle East and Europe. At the same time, EUROPA will be complementing the existing CADMOS and IMEWE systems, to offer an alternative routing and improve resilience.

Speaking on Monday, after a meeting with Lebanese Minister of Telecommunications Nicolas Sehnaoui, Chairman of Cyta`s Board of Directors Stathis Kittis expressed Cytas appreciation and satisfaction regarding the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications willingness to cooperate with Cyta in establishing an international telecommunications bridge between Lebanon and Europe.

We are deeply honoured to have been given the opportunity to contribute to Lebanons international telecommunications infrastructure that will enable the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications to meet the ever expanding needs and business goals of the Lebanese people and Lebanese enterprises, by embracing new technologies, generating competitively priced innovative products and delivering first-rate reliable telecommunications services, he said.

Kittis noted that Cyta and the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications have been close partners for many years. He said that in 1975, they established together the coaxial submarine cable ADONIS, which was replaced in 1994 with CADMOS, a repeaterless optical fiber system, which continues to this day to be one of the main systems via which both organisations jointly exploit market opportunities.

Moreover, Kittis pointed out that Cyta has always considered the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications as one of the most important strategic partners in the region.

The Lebanese Minister of Telecommunications said that they also consider themselves to be a strategic partner of Cyta. We believe that both our countries can take advantage from building together a strategic project such as the EUROPA system, he added.

I think the negotiations went well, Sehnaoui said, adding there are still some minor points that need to be followed up together. Of course, in Lebanon we need to pass the agreement from the Council of Ministers in order to finalise it, he concluded.

The submarine cable system will connect Lebanon with Cyprus and will be in a more advantageous state because it will be operating without the use of submarine repeaters.

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