Juan David Latorre
Some 120 people, including numerous members of the Consular Corps of Malaga, attended the inauguration of the Honorary Consulate of Cyprus in the capital of Malaga last Thursday.
The Dean of the Malaga Bar Association, Salvador González Martín; the Mayor of Malaga, Francisco Manuel de la Torre; the Delegate of Justice of the Andalusian Regional Government, Rebeca Gómez Gázquez, and the Dean of the Consular Corps, Rafael Pérez Peña, accompanied the Ambassador of Cyprus, Helena Mina, at the opening ceremony of the Consulate, with the lawyer Roberto García Alfonso assuming the functions of Consul.
The Cypriot ambassador wanted to emphasise from the outset that this consulate is the fifth that the Republic of Cyprus has in Spain. Helena Mina underlined her “joy” at revisiting the beautiful Andalusian city, which “reminds me a lot of my own country, with which it shares several elements. However, I am convinced that relations between our countries have much more potential than what we have achieved so far. And with Malaga, from the first time I visited it, I knew that I wanted to have more cooperation, more initiatives, more projects and more synergies between it and Cyprus”.
Among these initiatives that have already taken place between the Cypriot country and the Andalusian city, last September saw the signing of the General Protocol of Action between the city councils of Malaga and Limassol for the Promotion of Cultural, Educational, Technological, Environmental and Tourist Exchange, commented the ambassador. In addition, this year for the second consecutive year, the Mediterranean Encounters between Cyprus and Spain have been organised, a series of conferences that aim to raise awareness of Cyprus in Malaga. And we also had the opportunity to inaugurate a cartography exhibition with maps of Cyprus,” continued the ambassador, “where you can appreciate the influence of Cyprus and its strategic role throughout history.
“And today we inaugurate the Honorary Consulate, which is a testimony to the long-standing friendship between our two countries, she assured. Moreover, I am sure that it will generate new perspectives in various fields, as well as strengthen contacts between our people, which I consider very important. I would also like to highlight that the inauguration of the honorary consulate in Malaga coincides with the celebration of 55 years since the first exchange of ambassadors between Cyprus and Spain, a real milestone in our bilateral diplomatic relations.”
Finally, Helena Mina referred to the new Honorary Consul of Cyprus in Malaga, Roberto García Alfonso, stating that “I believe that I have chosen the best possible candidate for this position. Roberto García is not only an excellent professional and a great connoisseur of Cyprus and Cypriot culture, but I am sure he will do a great job supporting the Embassy in assisting and protecting the citizens of Cyprus, the country he will represent in the province of Málaga, as well as facilitating trade, culture and friendship between the peoples of both countries”.
The inauguration ceremony ended with the public presentation by the Ambassador of Cyprus to Roberto García Alfonso of the Consular Execuátur and the Consular Certificate, signed by the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides.
