Nicosia expects two significant diplomatic developments in the coming weeks: a visit by the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy Maria Angela Holguin and a trilateral meeting between UN chief Antonio Guterres, President Nicos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar in New York.
Nicosia awaits confirmation from the United Nations regarding precise dates for both events, government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis said.
Holguin visit rescheduled before president’s UN trip
Holguin’s Cyprus visit has been confirmed but the exact date remains pending, Letymbiotis told reporters. The visit must occur before Christodoulides departs for New York and the UN General Assembly.
“We have been informed that Ms Holguin’s visit to our country has been rescheduled before the President’s departure to New York,” Letymbiotis said, confirming reports that Holguin decided to visit Cyprus before travelling to New York.
The spokesman referred questions about Holguin’s arrival date and scheduled meetings to the United Nations for official announcements.
The trilateral meeting between Guterres, Christodoulides and Tatar is expected during the final week of September, according to diplomatic sources.
New UN peacekeeping chief appointed to Cyprus
Cyprus welcomed the appointment of Kassim Diagne as Special Representative and head of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, expressing expectations for close cooperation within the UN mission framework.
Diagne succeeds Colin Stewart and brings more than 25 years of experience in international affairs and senior UN system positions. He currently serves as interim UN Development and Humanitarian Coordinator in Mali, a position he has held since October 2024.
The new appointee previously served as Deputy Special Representative to the UN Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) earlier in 2024. From 2021 to 2024, he held the position of Deputy Special Representative for Protection and Operations in the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO).
Diagne served as Director of the Policy, Peacekeeping, Humanitarian and Human Rights Unit in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General from 2017 to 2021. His extensive career includes regional representative roles with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees across multiple countries including the United States, Caribbean, Cameroon, Liberia and Pakistan.
He holds Master’s degrees in Modern Languages from Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal, and International Relations from Tufts University’s Fletcher School in the United States. Diagne speaks fluent English, French and Wolof.
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