Greek president on official visit to Cyprus for Independence Day commemoration

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou begins an official two-day visit to Cyprus on Monday, ahead of independence day celebrations.

Sakellaropoulou will meet President Nikos Christodoulides shortly after 5pm at the Presidential Palace, followed by a meeting with the association of unaccompanied children hosted in Greece during 1974-1979.

On Tuesday, Independence Day, she will visit the graves of Greek Cypriots hung by the British during the anti-colonial struggle in the mid 50s and lay a wreath at the statue of Archbishop Makarios.

At 10am she will meet House speaker Annita Demetriou, at the House of Representatives, which will be followed by her presence at the annual parade for the anniversary of the founding of the Republic.

The traditional military parade for the 64th anniversary of the declaration of the Republic of Cyprus will take place in Nicosia, with its start being marked by the firing of 21 cannon salutes.

According to the ministry of defence, the salute will be received by Christodoulides and Sakellaropoulou, flanked by Minister of Defence Vassilis Palmas, Greek Deputy Minister of National Defence Ioannis Kefaloyiannis and National Guard Chief Lieutenant General Georgios Tsitsikostas.

The parade will start at 11am on Iosif Hadjiosif Avenue in Strovolos, with the participation of motorised and pedestrian units, and aircraft of the national guard, the police, the fire service, the civil defence, the forestry department and the health services.

An aircraft from the United Kingdom will also participate and the parade will be attended by ambassadors and foreign defence envoys and other officials.

At 12:30am the Greek president will meet Archbishop Georgios and at 7pm she will be awarded an honorary doctorate by the Social Sciences and Education faculty of the University of Cyprus.