Paphos is to restore ties with its network of sister towns in Greece, Salvation of Paphos Movement town councillor Michalis Hadjimitsis said on Wednesday.
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, he said the council’s foreign relations committee has set the “reactivation” of its relations with its sister towns as one of its priorities for the next five years.
Hadjimitsis, who chairs the committee, explained that Paphos has “sister town” agreements with the Greek municipalities of Kalamaria in eastern Thessaloniki, Corfu, Mytilene on the island of Lesvos, Lamia, Preveza, and Chania in Crete.
He said the reactivation of the ties will help “in the field of external relations and tourism, and in the promotion and appreciation of Paphos in the international arena, for the benefit of the town and its residents.”
To this end, a meeting is planned in Kalamaria for mid-February next year, with the aim of drawing up a plan which, he said, “will bring multiple benefits for the participating municipalities, specifically in the fields of culture, tourism, education, and trade”.
The municipalities will then “organise a series of joint events” and make other efforts to attract tourists.
On the matter of the education sector, Hadjimitsis said Paphos seeks to “transform itself into a Mediterranean education centre”, while on the matter of trade, he said efforts will be made to expand activities and to help small businesses to allow them to export local products.
As well as building its ties with municipalities in Greece, he said Paphos is aiming to further strengthen its ties with the municipalities of Anzio in Italy, Greater Amman in Jordan, Herzliya in Israel, and the governorate of Alexandria in Egypt.
To this end, he said a series of events will be planned “after the situation in the Middle East has been normalised”.
