Cyprus opens its embassy in RI

Veeramalla Anjaiah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 01/12/2010 10:48 PM

It was quite a surprise when the news broke that on Tuesday President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono received a letter of credence from Nicos Panayi the new Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to Jakarta.

Many thought that Ambassador Panayi might be a non-resident ambassador as Cyprus has no embassy in Jakarta. So far the Cyprus Embassy in Canberra has covered Indonesia.

“Cyprus has decided to open an embassy in Jakarta. Ambassador Panayi is its first ambassador to Indonesia,” Indonesian Foreign Ministry’s director for West European Affairs Dewa Made J. Sastrawan told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Panayi said his main duty would be to open the embassy and strengthen relations between the two countries further.

The embassy will be located in Kuningan in South Jakarta very soon, Panayi said.

When asked about the reason why Cyprus had decided to open an embassy in Indonesia, Panayi said Cyprus and Indonesia had historical links.

“Our first President [Archibishop] Makarios attended the first Bandung Conference in 1955. Later we became a member of the Non-Aligned Movement. Since then, we have had friendly ties with Indonesia,” Panayi said.