The UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, María Angela Holguín Cuéllar, arrives on Friday evening in the island for meetings.

On Saturday morning Holguín, who will stay in Cyprus for one week, will be received at the Presidential at 1030 local time by the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, while at the same time on Monday she will have a meeting, in the Turkish occupied areas of the Republic, with Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar.

CNA has learned that during her stay she is expected to meet with the bicommunal Technical Committee on Youth at Ledra Palace hotel in Nicosia buffer zone.

After her visit to Cyprus Holguín will travel to the three guarantor powers, namely Greece, Turkey and the UK for meetings.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results due to Turkish intransigence. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

UN Secretary General announced that an informal meeting on Cyprus in a broader format will be held at the end of July, following a similar meeting in Geneva, on March 17-18. The two sides agreed to proceed with a number of initiatives, involving the opening of crossing points, the creation of a Technical Committee on Youth and other initiatives in the buffer zone and throughout the island.

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced in early May the appointment of María Angela Holguín Cuéllar of Colombia as his Personal Envoy on Cyprus, who is tasked to reengage with the parties in order to work on next steps on the Cyprus issue and advise him. Holguín completed a previous assignment as Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General on Cyprus from January to July 2024.

The European Commission designated Johannes Hahn, a former European Commissioner, as Special Envoy for Cyprus to contribute to the settlement process, in close cooperation with Holguín.