NICOSIA, 25 November 2015 - The Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr. Mustafa Akɪncɪ, and the Greek Cypriot leader, Mr. Nicos Anastasiades, met for the sixth time during a series of intensive sessions held in the month of November.     

In the course of these six sessions, the two leaders have discussed a number of issues in most of the chapters interdependently and in great depth and have made further progress.

The leaders have achieved a better understanding of each other’s concerns. They now feel more hopeful and confident that the outstanding issues could be resolved in the near future in the course of their negotiations.  

Mr. Anastasiades and Mr. Akɪncɪ reiterate their commitment and determination to the process, to discussing all issues in an interdependent manner, and to finding a comprehensive settlement as soon as possible. 

The two leaders have agreed on the establishment of a Technical Committee on Education which shall, inter alia:
1.    Review existing research and good practices in education in Cyprus and abroad and undertake new relevant research on how education can contribute to conflict transformation, peace, reconciliation and the countering of prejudice, discrimination, racism, xenophobia and extremism.
2.    Work on devising a mutually acceptable mechanism for the implementation of confidence building measures in schools of the two educational systems and promote contact and co-operation between students and educators from the two communities.
3.    Recommend best policy options and course of action that will allow co-ordination of the two educational systems, thus contributing to a viable, sustainable and functional bi-communal, bi-zonal federation.
The negotiators will meet on a nearly daily basis in order to discuss and to prepare the leaders’ meetings. Preparatory work is also ongoing at the level of working groups and committees.

The leaders will continue to meet frequently in the month of December. Meetings at leaders’ level have been scheduled for 4th, 15th and 20th December 2015. They also decided to make a joint visit to the laboratory of the Committee on Missing Persons on 20 December.

End.