On Monday, July 28, Andreas Grigoriou, the head of the Presidency Administration of the Republic of Cyprus and director general of the Cypriot Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, and the Environment, visited the headquarters of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia in Sydney.

Mr. Grigoriou is in Australia representing the President of the Republic of Cyprus at commemorative events marking 51 years since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. He was warmly received at the Archiepiscopal Office by His Eminence, Archbishop Makarios of Australia.

The cordial and constructive meeting was also attended by the Republic of Cyprus’s High Commissioner to Australia, Mr. Antonios Sammoutis.

Topics of mutual interest were discussed during the meeting, with a particular focus on the Holy Archdiocese of Australia’s witness and mission, its ministry in support of the Cypriot diaspora on the fifth continent, and the course of the Cyprus issue. Regarding this issue, the Archbishop reiterated his firm stance in favor of a fair resolution that would result in the reunification of the island and the peaceful coexistence of its inhabitants.

Mr. Grigoriou thanked the Archbishop for his care of the Cypriot community members and his support of the Cypriot people’s just cause. He presented the Archbishop with two commemorative gifts: one from the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides, and one from Archbishop Georgios of New Justiniana and All Cyprus.

Archbishop Makarios thanked Mr. Grigoriou for visiting the Holy Archdiocese of Australia and asked him to convey his love, respect, and prayers for the success of their important mission to the President and Primate of the Church of Cyprus.

Translated by Ioanna Georgakopoulou