Talks and agreements between Limassol and Alexandria

In a three-day trip, a Limassol Municipality delegation headed by the Mayor of Limassol, Nicos Nicolaides and including representatives of the Municipal Council, the Limassol Holy Metropolis headed by the Bishop of Amathus Nicolaos, the CUT, the School Board, the Limassol Nautical Club, the Association of Asia Minor Greeks of Cyprus, the SBLA and a team of scientific researchers that have participated in the Symposium organized by the Limassol Municipal Archive, visited the city of Alexandria on 28/10/2019.

The Mayor, Deputy Mayor and City Councillors, together with representatives of several Limassol associations, had a meeting with the Governor of Alexandria, during which the two cities updated the twinning agreement they entered into in 1972. In addition to this, the Governor of Alexandria agreed to pursue joint actions in the fields of energy, tourism (especially when it comes to attracting cruise ships to the two cities), economy and culture. The Governor of Alexandria accepted the invitation of the Mayor of Limassol to visit our city as part of the promotion of aims of cooperation between the two cities.

The Limassol Municipality delegation then visited the Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria at the Patriarchate. The Mayor of Limassol and the representatives of the CUT suggested the full digitization of the Patriarchate’s rich archive within the next 5 years, a proposal that moved the Patriarch who accepted it with great enthusiasm. The in-between them agreement is to be signed during the Patriarch’s visit to Limassol on November 11 and 12. The meeting with the Patriarch was preceded by a rite of passage at the church of the Patriarchate, on the occasion of the 1400th anniversary of the Assumption of St. John the Merciful, patron saint of Limassol who also served as a Patriarch of Alexandria.

The Limassol associations that attended this trip signed cooperation agreements with corresponding Alexandria associations. The CUT signed a cooperation agreement with the University of Alexandria, the Limassol Municipal – University Library with the Alexandria Library, the Limassol Nautical Club with the Greek Navy Clubs of Cairo and Alexandria, the Association of Asia Minor Greeks of Cyprus with the Hellenic Club of Asia Minor Greeks of Alexandria and the Pattihio Municipal Museum – Historical Archive – Research Centre with the Association of Greek Scientists of Alexandria “Ptolemy A’”.

Within the framework of the visit, a Conference was held on “Limassol – Alexandria: Two cities in a Continuing Dialogue” by the Pattihio Municipal Museum - Historical Archive - Research centre. This conference was held in Limassol last November and because of the interest people took in it, it was considered beneficial to present it before the Hellenism of the Egyptian Diaspora. It was coordinated by the Scientific Director of the archive and was attended by Scientists – Researchers both from Limassol and Alexandria. The Mayor of Limassol and the Governor of Alexandria attended the opening ceremony of the Symposium, along with a great number of expatriate Greeks and Cypriots living in Alexandria.