Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country located in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, north of the Sinai Peninsula, south of the Anatolian Peninsula, and west of the Levant. It is geographically a part of West Asia, but its cultural ties and geopolitics are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the third-largest and third-most populous island in the Mediterranean. It is located east of Greece, north of Egypt, south of Turkey, and west of Lebanon and Syria. Its capital and largest city is Nicosia. The northeast portion of the island is de facto governed by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
The economy of Cyprus is a high-income economy as classified by the World Bank, and was included by the International Monetary Fund in its list of advanced economies in 2001. Cyprus adopted the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2008, replacing the Cypriot pound at an irrevocable fixed exchange rate of CYP 0.585274 per €1.
Cyprus is a member of the United Nations along with most of its agencies as well as the Commonwealth of Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Council of Europe. In addition, the country has signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency Agreement (MIGA). Cyprus has been a member of the European Union since 2004 and in the second half of the 2012 it held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Nicosia, also known by its Greek name Lefkosia, its Turkish name Lefkoşa, and by several other names, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus.
Famagusta, also known by several other names, is a city on the east coast of Northern Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. During the Middle Ages, Famagusta was the island's most important port city and a gateway to trade with the ports of the Levant, from where the Silk Road merchants carried their goods to Western Europe. The old walled city and parts of the modern city are de facto part of Northern Cyprus as the capital of the Gazimağusa District.
Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, and its territory is considered by all other states to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.
Makarios III was a Greek Cypriot archbishop, primate, statesman and politician, who served as the first President of Cyprus between 1960 and 1977. He was also the Archbishop of the autocephalous Church of Cyprus from 1950 to 1977.
The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of intercommunal violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and in response to a Greek junta-sponsored Cypriot coup d'état five days earlier, it led to the Turkish capture and occupation of the northern part of the island.
Cyprus–Malta relations are foreign relations between Cyprus and Malta. The two countries share membership of the European Union, Commonwealth of Nations and historically, the Non-Aligned Movement. Cyprus is represented to Malta through its accredited embassy in Rome (Italy). Malta is represented to Cyprus through its accredited embassy in Athens (Greece). The political relations are close due to similarities between the 2 countries. They are the two island countries of the Mediterranean Sea. By May 2004, the two island countries entered the European Union.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cyprus:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Northern Cyprus:
Cypriot–Russian relations refers to bilateral foreign relations between the Republic of Cyprus and the Russian Federation. The Soviet Union established diplomatic relations with the newly independent Republic of Cyprus on 18 August 1960. Cooperation between both countries has increased since the 1990s because of the end of the Soviet Union. Cyprus has an embassy in Moscow, and Russia has an embassy in Nicosia.
Cyprus–Egypt relations refer to bilateral relations between Cyprus and Egypt. Due to the strong cultural and historical ties between the two nations, Cyprus and Egypt today enjoy friendly, and strategic relations. Modern diplomatic relations between the two countries were established soon after Cyprus gained its independence in 1960, and are regarded as cordial. Cyprus has an embassy in Cairo and Egypt has an embassy in Nicosia.
The largest enlargement of the European Union (EU), in terms of number of states and population, took place on 1 May 2004.
Egypt–Greece relations refer to bilateral relations between Egypt and Greece. Due to the strong cultural and historical ties between the two nations, Egypt and Greece today enjoy friendly relations. Modern diplomatic relations between the two countries were established after Greece gained its independence in 1830, and are today regarded as cordial. Both countries are members and partners in several international organizations such as UN, IMF, OSCE, and the Union for the Mediterranean.
Cyprus–Sweden relations are foreign relations between Cyprus and Sweden. The two countries are members of the European Union, Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Union for the Mediterranean. Cyprus has an embassy in Stockholm. Sweden has an embassy in Nicosia (Cyprus).
Professor Nicos L. Kartakoullis is the President of the Council of the University of Nicosia, Cyprus, as well as Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Sports Management. He served as Vice President of the Ethics and Sports Integrity Commission of Cyprus and as Expert representing the Republic of Cyprus at the International Partnership Against Corruption in Sport (IPACS). Kartakoullis is the President of the Council of the University of Nicosia Foundation and an Adjunct Professor to the School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Ottawa, Canada.
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was founded with the view to advancing interests of developing countries in the context of Cold War confrontation. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide.
1988 Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers Conference was held in Nicosia, capital of Cyprus in September 1988. 92 foreign ministers participating in the conference discussed United States and the Soviet Union rapprochement, South Africa's occupation of Namibia and Israel's occupation of Palestine, threats against Nicaragua, apartheid and the solution of the conflict in South-West Africa. During the conference, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was unanimously selected as a host of the 9th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, making the country the first one to host the event for the second time after the 1961 Summit. While the Federal Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Yugoslavia led by Budimir Lončar was excited, the Presidency of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav collective head of state, was sceptical about the prospects of hosting the event but ultimately supported by Josip Vrhovec. Some other countries considered hosting the 9th summit, including Kuwait, Argentina, Peru, Cyprus and Nicaragua. Nicaraguan candidacy was opposed by Yugoslavia due to perceived radicalism and de facto alignment of the country, while Cypriot informal candidacy while attractive, was perceived as impractical as the country had only 4 embassies in NAM member states.
Mediterranean island country of Cyprus was one of the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement with Makarios III attending the 1st Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia in 1961, just one year after the Cypriot independence. Membership in the movement was perceived as one of two major foreign-policy alternatives with the first one being formal membership in NATO at least nominally supported by both Greece and Turkey in the initial period after the London and Zürich Agreements and second one being pro-western participation in Non-Aligned Movement where United Kingdom and United States preferred this option at least until 1963.
