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Cypriot Ambassador Kountourides Fell in Love With Slovakia on the First Sight
Wednesday 10 November 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, November 10 (TASR) - I've only been in Slovakia for a short time, but I've already fallen in love with it, Cyprus's first Ambassador to Slovakia Marios Kountourides told TASR on Wednesday - the day on which Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias is due to come to Slovakia and one day before the ceremonial opening of the new embassy in Bratislava.
"I feel extremely proud that I'm my country's first resident ambassador. Your welcome, both at official and non-official levels, has been so wonderful and warm that it didn't take long for me to fall in love with your country," said Kountourides. Cyprus's embassy in Vienna has handled the Slovak agenda until now.
"I was told by the Slovak Ambassador to Cyprus [Anna Turenicova - ed. note] that in the heart of Europe I would find Mediterranean people in Slovaks. I haven't been disappointed. Slovakia with its natural beauty has another beautiful aspect - that of its people," said Kountourides.
The ambassador has so far been dealing especially with preparations for the ceremonial opening of the embassy that is due to take place on Thursday during the presidential visit. "After the visit I'll concentrate all my power and strength on the further enhancement and strengthening of relations - of the excellent relations - between our two countries," he said, adding that there are a number of spheres that can be improved thanks to the physical presence of representatives of the Cypriot Government in Bratislava.
Cyprus is opening an embassy in the Slovak capital at a time in which many European countries are scaling down their diplomatic missions abroad and co-operating in order to cut expenditures. "We committed ourselves to opening an embassy and we've kept our word," said Kountourides, stressing that honesty is extremely important for him in diplomacy, even during an economic crisis. "I think that the presence of a Cypriot embassy in Bratislava sends, above all, a very strong political message - a message of friendship, a message of the reinforcement of the excellent relations between Slovakia and Cyprus."
Kountourides can't see any limits when it comes to strengthening these ties. "The English have a saying - the sky's the limit," he noted, using tourism as an example. His ambition is to promote Cyprus as a destination that is already visited by 4,500 Slovak tourists each year. "If I can raise this by another thousand during my first year, that would be a success," he said, adding that he would also like to motivate the people of Cyprus to get to know Slovakia. "Your country has a lot to offer. I'm aware that you have wonderful spas here and I hope to have the opportunity to see some of them for myself," he said.
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