President of the House of Representatives Demetris Syllouris is paying an official working visit to London where he will hold a series of meetings over the next few days with government and parliament officials, as well as the leaders of the Commonwealth and the organised diaspora.

His diary of meetings for Monday, 4th December starts with talks with the First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office, Mr Damian Green. House Speaker will then be received by the Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain Gregorios and he will later meet with Chairman of the Exiting the European Union Parliamentary Committee, Hilary Benn.

Monday’s engagements will conclude with meetings with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Akbar Khan and the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organisation, Kitack Lim.

On Tuesday morning Demetris Syllouris will meet with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Patricia Scotland, the Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow and the Lord Speaker Lord Fowler.

In the afternoon he will have a working lunch with members of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Cyprus and later on he will attend a roundtable discussion organised by the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council. UK based businesses with participate in the discussion.

The day will end with a working dinner organised by the Executive Secretariat of the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK.

On Wednesday, last day of his visit, House Speaker will be received by Lord Mayor of The City of London, Charles Bowman.

Sunday morning Demetris Syllouris attended the service at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of All Saints in north London’s Camden, a church founded seven decades ago by members of the first wave of Greek Cypriot migrants to the UK.

In a brief address to the congregation he said he felt obliged to attend service at such a historic church which has been a vital reference point for the Cypriots in London, as it helped them retain their links with their country, their traditions and religion. “This was the basis and the root from which the diaspora grew and prospered, so that it was able to help Cyprus, as it has been doing in various ways,” said the President of the House of Representatives.

He stressed that the meetings he will be having with members and officials of the diaspora will not just be ceremonious: “I want to hear from you, to hear your suggestions and views, as the meetings I will be having are being held in a very transitional period for the whole world. You (in the UK) are feeling this insecurity perhaps a little bit more due to the decision that has been taken with regard to Europe; but we in Cyprus also feel this insecurity because of what has been happening in our region.”

Demetris Syllouris noted that a priority during his meetings will be to see how UK citizens of Cypriot descent will be protected in view of Brexit, how their links to Cyprus and Europe will be affected, with the same questions being raised about Cypriot nationals living in the UK, including students.