CF2025

Cyprus Forum London

Thursday, 22 May 2025

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Watch the Cyprus Forum London 2024

Igniting Dialogue, Inspiring Change.

The expansion to London marks an exciting new chapter for the Cyprus Forum, an annual forum dedicated to fostering dialogue and driving impactful change. As an extension of the Cyprus Forum series, the addition of London signifies our commitment to broadening our reach and engaging with diverse perspectives on critical issues.
 
Since its inception, the Cyprus Forum has been at the forefront of facilitating discussions and collaboration among policymakers, academics, civil society representatives, and thought leaders. By establishing a presence in London, we aim to further amplify these conversations, drawing upon the dynamic energy and expertise of this global hub.
 
Whether you’re in London, Cyprus, or beyond, your voice matters. Let’s come together to drive impactful conversations and shape a better future for all. Join us in igniting dialogue and inspiring change.

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FINAL AGENDA

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  • 1 Kinyra 1102 Nicosia, Cyprus
  • +357 22 678 670
  • contact@cyprusforum.cy

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EMEL AKÇALI

Emel Akçalı is a scholar of International Relations at the Defence Studies Department, King’s College London. She teaches and researches about environmental geopolitics, critical security and geopolitical studies, gender, state and society and conflict in the Middle East and North Africa, and global International Relations. 

Her research thus far has been funded by the British Academy, EU, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), British Institute in Ankara, Central European University (CEU), the Višegrad Fund, Fondation de Robert Schuman in Paris and she has been awarded CEU Institute of Advanced Study and Aix-Marseille University Institute of Advanced Study resident fellowships for world class foreign researchers in 2013 and 2016. 

She is the author of Chypre: Un enjeu geopolitique actuel (Cyprus, a contemporary geopolitical stake), published by l’Harmattan in Paris in 2009, and she has a forthcoming book on Turkey Going Green, published by Edinburgh University Press.

BAMBOS CHARALAMBOUS

Bambos Charalambous is the Member of Parliament for Southgate and Wood Green and the first Cypriot MP to be elected in the House of Commons in 2017. He is the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Cyprus. Bambos was a solicitor for Hackney Council prior to becoming an MP and was a councillor in Enfield Council for 23 years. Bambos served in the Labour opposition frontbench as Shadow Minister for the Middle East, Crime Reduction and Immigration. Along with chairing the APPG for Cyprus, he also chairs the APPG for Global Education, Music Education and Opera.

URAN FERIZI

Dr. Ferizi is the Ambassador of Albania to the UK and Ireland, a role he has held since January 2024. His professional background is in scientific research, following an early career in finance. He began in the private sector, working on feasibility studies for major infrastructure projects, including London Heathrow and Singapore Airports. He later moved into investment banking, working on the trading desk at Bear Stearns (JP Morgan) in London, where he specialised in fixed-income structured products. 

Dr. Ferizi studied Mathematics at Oxford University. For his PhD in Neuroscience at University College London, he developed mathematical models for brain imaging in collaboration with MIT-Harvard’s MGH Hospital and the UK’s National Hospital for Neurology. His postdoctoral research at New York University focused on arthritis and osteoporosis, and at Stanford University, he worked on early biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease and addiction in adolescents.

CHRISTOS KARAOLIS

Christos Karaolis was elected President of the Federation for the first time in June 2015. He was unanimously re-elected for a fourth term in May 2023. He is the first third generation Cypriot elected to that position and the fifth President of the Federation since its establishment. He is a member of the President of Cyprus’ ‘Overseas Cypriots Advisory Committee’ and Vice President of POMAK (the World Federation of Overseas Cypriots). Christos is also a founding member of NEPOMAK and served as President of NEPOMAK UK from 2005 to 2006 and President of NEPOMAK from 2006 to 2014. 

Christos is a Partner at Bain & Company in their London office specialising in Financial Services strategy and Performance Improvement consulting. Christos has an MA in Jurisprudence from Trinity College, Oxford. He was later a Prince of Wales scholar at Gray’s Inn and qualified as a Barrister before joining Bain & Company.

ANNA KOUKKIDES-PROCOPIOU

Anna Koukkides-Procopiou is the President of Politeia Think Tank, affiliated with the Universitas Research Foundation and the CEO of the Interhorizon Group of Companies. She is the former Minister of Justice and Public Order of the Republic of Cyprus and a former Senior Fellow and Member of the Advisory Board of the Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs, University of Nicosia, where she served for more than a decade. Prior to her government appointment, she worked as a Consultant on the Turkey/Cyprus project of the Europe and Central Asia Program of International Crisis Group, while she currently serves as advisor to the President of the EPP-affiliated Democratic Rally (DISY) party on the Cyprus Problem. Her research and published academic work focusses on foreign policy, inclusive security and gender. 

An accredited Cyprus expert for the World Bank, she also worked on Liberia, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and Turkmenistan via projects run by UN Women, the OSCE, Interpeace, CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation, Helsinki, the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, SeeD-Centre for Sustainable Peace and Democratic Development, as well as projects funded by the State Department, the German and the Dutch Foreign Ministries. She often participated and contributed as expert in working groups run by the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe and the Union for the Mediterranean, as well as politically-affiliated foundations such as the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Munich and the Robert Schuman Institute. A founding member of the Israel-Hellenic Forum, she is also a member of the UN Senior Women Talent Pipeline group, based in New York. 

Anna has extensive corporate experience in senior management positions, including management positions with the Lanitis Group of Companies and an Executive Director’s position on the board of DIAS group, a public company and the largest media group in Cyprus. She is also a member of Exxon Mobil’s Global Women in Management team, based in Washington DC and a former mentor of the business programme of Cherie Blair Foundation for Women in London. 

She holds First Class degrees in History and Economics from University College London, where she studied as the recipient of the UCL Cyprus Scholarship and an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics. She also holds a scholarship-funded certificate in Religion and Politics by the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale University and has trained as a professional Political Risk Analyst with Teneo Intelligence, one of the largest providers of political intelligence in the world. In addition, she holds a scholarship-funded Executive Development Diploma (mini-MBA for professionals) from CIIM-Cyprus International Institute of Management, as well as professional certification in Gender Sensitive Leadership through the Gender Equality Academy, Berlin. 

An avid public speaker, TEDx speaker, book author, political analyst and commentator, she frequently contributes to local and international media outlets, including the Economist, The Times/Sunday Times, Euronews, Associated Press, Monocle, the Huffington Post and Modern Diplomacy.

KYRIACOS KOUROS

Ambassador Kyriacόs Kouros assumed duties on 2 April 2024.

Prior to his appointment, High Commissioner Kouros, from April 2023 until assuming his duties, served as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic. Previously, he served as the Director of the Diplomatic Office of the President of the Republic, in addition to his assignment as National Security Advisor to the President of the Republic and Head of the Intelligence Service.

Mr Kouros is a career diplomat who joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus in 1996. During his versatile career, he has served in different overseas posts and in various departments within the Ministry.

In 2012, he was appointed Ambassador of Cyprus to the Netherlands with parallel accreditation as Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

In 2006, he was appointed Chargé d’ Affaires of the Republic of Cyprus to Lebanon and in 2009 he was accredited as Cyprus’ first resident Ambassador to the country. During his posting in Lebanon, he dealt with two major conflicts and the terrorism wave which affected the country between 2006-2008. In this respect, he facilitated the evacuation of thousands of Cypriot and other EU citizens, providing consular assistance to those in need under life threatening conditions. For his service during this time, he was awarded the National Medal of Cedar of the Government of Lebanon.

Other overseas postings included Athens and Geneva. He was also appointed Ministerial Envoy to Libya in July 2011 and served from 1998 to 2002 as a member of the Working Group for the Search of Missing Persons from the 1974 Turkish invasion.

Prior to joining the Foreign Ministry, he worked from 1990 as editor at the Cyprus News Agency and from 1994 as Lecturer at the Journalism Department of Frederick University of Cyprus.

He is a graduate of the Law Department of the University of Athens. He has a Master of Arts in International Journalism from the Journalism Department of City University of London and a PhD from the Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences of Athens.

He speaks Greek (mother tongue), English, German and French.

High Commissioner Kouros was born in Nicosia in 1963. He is married and has an adult daughter.

NICOLAS KYRIAKIDES

Nicolas Kyriakides is a lawyer and academic. He is also interested in policy-making. He is a graduate of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, he holds postgraduate degrees from UCL and NYU and a PhD (DPhil) from the University of Oxford. He has also been a visiting researcher at Harvard University. He teaches at the University of Nicosia and has contributed to a number of high level innovative legal research initiatives and papers in the course of both his commercial practice and his academic life, such as the Procedural Law Unit at the University of Nicosia. He is also a founding member of the non-profit organisation Oxygono.

GEORGE HADJIPAVLI

George Hajipavli FRGS FRSA is the founding Programme Coordinator of the Eastern Mediterranean programme at Oxford. His current focus lies with raising awareness about the strategic significance of the Eastern Mediterranean on European and Transatlantic security. This entails highlighting the geographical and thematic interconnectedness of Euro-Atlantic security, especially in the face of heightened great power competition and an increasingly volatile international environment, but also the reasons to which developments in the Eastern Mediterranean are indispensable when it comes to the prosperity and economies of European societies. 

In addition, George is the Convenor of the Discussion Group of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Oxford, and a Research Associate at South East European Studies at Oxford (SEESOX), within which the Eastern Mediterranean programme is situated. 

In terms of his academic credentials, George has graduated with Distinction across all examinations from the MPhil in Russian and East European Studies at the University of Oxford, and with first-class honours from the BA in Politics and East European Studies at University College London. He has been the recipient of the Departmental Scholarship of the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies at the University of Oxford, the Leventis Foundation Scholarship, the Laidlaw Scholarship in Research and Leadership, the Dean’s List of the UCL Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences, and the UCL Arena Student Fellowship. 

He further maintains extensive professional experience in matters pertinent to European security studies, and energy. 

He is currently the Head of Research & Policy for a British parliamentary and community group, while he previously worked for a Member of the European Parliament in Brussels. 

He has additionally worked for a European renewable energy association, based in Brussels, and is currently a Non-Executive Director for International Development for a London-based public corporation that develops innovative energy solutions in partnership with Imperial College London. In the past, he co-authored the ‘Climate Change’ chapter in the Global Diplomatic Forum’s Global Agenda (Volume 1).