The island’s future; economic, social, and political discussions at the Cyprus Forum
Cyprus Forum 2024 took place on October 3-4, and was completed with an intensive two-day program at the Old Nicosia Municipality Building in Eleftheria Square and the Ledra Palace Hotel in the buffer zone where Cyprus’s economic, social, and political future were discussed.
The event brought together local and international experts, politicians, academics, and representatives of non-governmental organisations, serving as a platform for important dialogues on regional cooperation and sustainable development.
CALL FOR MORE CROSSING POINTS FROM HARMANCI AND PROUNTZOS
During the opening of the Forum, following the Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides, the President of the Greek Cypriot House of Representatives Annita Demetriou, and the UN Special Representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart, the Mayor of Nicosia Turkish Municipality Mehmet Harmancı and the Mayor of Nicosia Municipality Charalambos Prountzos took the stage together to give a joint speech on bi-communal cooperation and peace projects.
Harmancı emphasised that the Cyprus issue is still a fundamental matter for both communities and pointed out that the understanding of security needs to be redefined. The two mayors expressed their determination to open more crossing points in Nicosia and bring the two communities closer together through joint projects.
Negotiation Panels:
Menelaos Menelaou, Andreas Mavroyiannis, Özdil Nami, İpek Borman, and Rally Papageorgiou participated in the panel organised on the negotiations regarding the Cyprus issue. In the panel, a brief and concise evaluation was presented on the developments in the negotiations for the resolution of the Cyprus issue and the Crans Montana process. GLOPOL (Global Policies Center) provided support to this panel as an information provider.
Energy Security Panels:
Two important panels on energy security were held at the forum. In the first panel, the use of the Eastern Mediterranean’s energy resources and security issues in the region were discussed with the participation of Fikri Toros, Paris Fokaides, Mitat Çelikpala, Harry Tzimitras, and Asya Beyaz.
In the second panel, the American Ambassador to Cyprus, Julie Fisher, the British High Commissioner, Irfan Siddiq, Angelina Eichhorst and George Kremlis from the European Union External Action Service, and Dimitrios Cavouras from Chatham House participated.
In these panels, the strategic importance of the Eastern Mediterranean within European-Atlantic security was discussed. PRIO Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean Program at the University of Oxford were among the organisations supporting these panels.
THE POTENTIAL OF PARTNERSHIPS IN THE BUSINESS WORLD AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE ISLAND WERE DISCUSSED
Bi-communal Cooperation Panels:
In the panel titled “Bi-communal Cooperation: Past, Present, and Future,” held with the aim of strengthening cooperation between the two communities in Cyprus and promoting economic development, Mustafa Ergüven, Stefan Simosas, and Andreas Andreou delivered significant speeches. At the panel, past successes and future potential opportunities regarding Cyprus’s bi-communal economic projects were discussed. The speakers on the panel discussed the contributions that increasing partnerships in the business world would make to Cyprus’s economic development and social peace.
Additionally, in the panel titled “Cyprus as a Service-Based Digitized Economy in the 21st Century,” Kemal Baykallı, Ali Tüzünkan, Michalis Strouthos, Mustafa Besim, and Annely Madeleen Koudstaal, the World Bank’s South Europe Program Director, discussed how the European Union’s Digital Europe policy could be adapted to Cyprus.
Transition Process to a Service-Oriented Digital Economy
In the panel, the challenges and opportunities brought by digitalization to both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities were discussed. The transition process of Cyprus to a service-oriented digital economy focused on how both communities could benefit from this transformation and the potential of this process to bring the two communities together to produce common solutions.
Youth Panel:
The panel titled “United Youth of Cyprus,” which discussed the participation of young people in peace and cooperation processes, addressed the opportunities for bi-communal youth to work together and contribute to the peace process. The panel, conducted with the participation of young representatives; Eylül Tuna, Christos Andreou, and Maria Erotokritou, emphasised the role of young people in peacebuilding and discussed solution proposals for the future of Cyprus. Maria Zeniou and Erbay Akansoy moderated the panel.
This year, the Peace and Democracy Awards given as part of the forum were presented to Özker Özgür and Lena Meladiou for their contributions to bi-communal cooperation. The awards emphasised the importance of efforts towards the peace process in Cyprus.