While on a State Visit to Cyprus, President and Sabina Higgins attended a State Banquet in their honour, hosted by President Anastasiades.
The State Visit included a visit to the UN-controlled buffer zone which divides the island, meetings with the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus and the Committee on Missing Persons, and with members of An Garda Síochána stationed in Cyprus.
The President also met with the Mayor of Nicosia and hosted a cultural evening for the Irish community in Cyprus.
President Higgins also delivered an address to the House of Representatives.
The State Visit, the first such visit to Cyprus by the President of Ireland since 2006, took place at the invitation of President Nicos Anastasiades, who paid a visit to Ireland in 2016. The President's visit provided an opportunity to renew the longstanding bonds of friendship and solidarity between Ireland and Cyprus and to recognise Ireland’s UN peacekeeping contribution in Cyprus over many decades.
Click on the Audio tab to listen to the speech delivered by President Higgins.
