On
Wednesday, Volodymyr Lytvyn, Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, met
Marios Karoyian, President of the House of Representatives of the Republic of
Cyprus.
At the beginning of the meeting, V. Lytvyn expressed his gratitude to M. Karoyian for the high level of organization of the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament held in Limassol in June 2010, when the meetings with the President of the Republic of Cyprus Demetris Christofias and the President of the House of Representatives were held.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is convinced that the visit of the President of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus would strengthen the bilateral relations. He declared that Ukraine highly appreciated the cooperation with Cyprus. "Our relations are characterized by stability and positive character", V. Lytvyn emphasised.
The Head of the Ukrainian Parliament called for further development of the political dialogue between the states, and expressed his hope that the visit of the President of the Republic of Cyprus planned for the next year would facilitate this process.
M. Karoyian declared that his visit was the first official visit on the supreme parliamentary level. "We have a lot in common," he stated. "Ukraine and Cyprus observe the rule of law and democracy." The President of the House of Representatives has also emphasised the importance of Ukraine in the European region.
The Parties expressed mutual interest in the development of the interparliamentary cooperation and strengthening of its systemic character. V. Lytvyn and M. Karoyian called for boosting activity of the parliamentary delegations, maintaining direct contacts between the committees, and holding annual meetings of the presidents of the parliaments.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine declared that the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs was willing to visit Cyprus shortly.
M. Karoyian invited V. Lytvyn to make an official visit to the Republic of Cyprus. The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine accepted the invitation.
The President of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus commented on the efficient work of the parliamentary delegations of Ukraine and Cyprus in the international organizations. He also suggested holding regular meetings of the Heads of the Parliaments of Cyprus, Ukraine and Moldova.
The Parties appreciated a high potential of the further development of trade and economic relations. In particular, V. Lytvyn stated that Cyprus was the biggest investor in Ukrainian economy. He informed that Ukrainian investments in the economy of Cyprus compised 93% of the total scope of Ukrainian investments into foreign countries. The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine also considers the activity of Cyprian-Ukrainian Business Association as an essential tool for the trade and economic cooperation.
V. Lytvyn and M. Karoiyan called for facilitating conclusion of the Convention between the Government of Ukraine and Government of the Republic of Cyprus on Prevention of Double Taxation of Income and Income Tax Evasion.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna
Rada of Ukraine
sees a great many perspectives
of the bilateral
cooperation in the defense
sector. He stated that Ukraine expected the visit of Costas Papacostas, Minister of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus. He also expressed his hopes
for the further development of cooperation in military and military-technical sectors.
Speaking on the European perspectives of Ukraine, the President of the House of Representatives assured that his state would assist Ukraine in this pursuit.
V. Lytvyn expressed gratitude to the Republic of Cyprus for the support of European intentions of Ukraine, and declared that our state expected Cyprus to assist in the Action Plan on the visa-free regime with the EU member states at the Ukraine-EU summit in Brussels on November 22 2010.
The Parties have also discussed the ‘Cyprus dispute.´ "Ukraine has always respected sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cyprus, and upheld the fair solution of this problem by the political means on the principles of the international law, fundamental resolutions of the UN Security Council, and the European Union standards. The Republic of Cyprus can expect the assistance of Ukraine in this issue", V. Lytvyn declared. "We are following the negotiations progress, and hope that the mutually beneficial solutions will be found."
In his turn, M. Karoyian expressed his gratitude to the Ukrainian Party for this position. He expects that it will help in regulating the problem.