President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades presented on Tuesday the medal of exceptional service to the Republic of Cyprus to three Cypriots, during a special ceremony that took place at the Presidential Palace.
 
The President awarded the medal to the founder of Medochemie, Andreas Pittas, to professor Costas Papanikolas and to former Minister Nicos Rolandis, praising their remarkable course, their selfless service to the country, as well as the passion with which they served their vision.

The event was attended, among others, by former President George Vassiliou, current and former state officials, party leaders and representatives, parliamentarians and ambassadors of foreign countries.

In his speech, President Anastasiades noted that the medals were awarded in recognition of the honorees’ valuable contribution to their homeland, clearly evident at national, political, humanitarian, social and scientific level.

“By developing multifaceted activity and being driven by unending love for and a genuine interest in our country, the three honorees have put themselves and their knowledge at the service of their homeland expanding in many cases for the benefit of the mankind in general”, the President said.

Andreas Pittas is the founder and executive chairman of Medochemie which was founded in 1976 and has evolved into one of the top generic pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in the world.

Costas N. Papanicolas is the President of the Cyprus Institute. He is a nuclear physicist with over 35 years of experience as a researcher, an educator and a scientific administrator at the University of Illinois and the University of Athens. He is a founding member of the Cyprus Academy of Sciences Letters and Arts and also the Advisor to the President of the Republic of Cyprus and Special Envoy on Climate Change.

Nicos Rolandis has served as Minister of Commerce and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus. In 2003 he signed in Cairo an Agreement delineating the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of Cyprus and Egypt, the first EEZ agreement signed in the Eastern Mediterranean.