Poland in Cyprus

Historical view

The first historically documented high-level contact between Poland and Cyprus took place in 1364, when the king of Cyprus and the titular king of Jerusalem, Peter I de Poitiers-Lusignan, took part in a meeting of European monarchs and princes (the so-called feast at Wierzynek's) at the invitation of the Polish King Casimir III the Great.

During the Second World War, Cyprus (at that time still a British colony) was one of the stops for Polish refugees, in particular soldiers of the September campaign who were fleeing from internment camps in Hungary and Romania.

After Cyprus gained independence in 1960, bilateral contacts were of limited character. They gained momentum in 2004, when Poland, together with the Republic of Cyprus, joined the European Union. In 2011-2012, Poland, Denmark and Cyprus held the trio presidency of the EU Council. An analogous situation will happen in 2025-2026.

Political cooperation after 1989

In May 2024, the President of the Republic of Cyprus and his wife paid a two-day official visit to Poland. It was the first official visit of the leader of Cyprus to Poland since 1364.
President Christodoulides, accompanied by his wife Philippa Karsera Christodoulides, was officially welcomed at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw. He then held a private meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda, followed by extended talks between the delegations of both countries. The President of the Republic of Cyprus took part in a working lunch with Prime Minister Donald Tusk and met with the Speaker of the Sejm, Szymon Hołownia. On the second day of the visit, Nikos Christodoulides went to Krakow, where he met the rector and students of the Jagiellonian University.

The 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Poland and Cyprus was celebrated in 2021. Its paramount event was the official visit of the President of the Republic of Poland, Mr Andrzej Duda with Spouse in the Republic of Cyprus (6-8 October 2021). The programme included consultations with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Nicos Anastasiades, visit at the UNFICYP Headquarters and meeting with the President of the House of Representatives, Mrs Annita Demetriou. The Presidential Couple was also received by the Leader of the Cypriot Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos II. Subsequently, they visited the Catholic Church of the Holy Cross in Nicosia and laid a bouquet of flowers at the bust of St. John Paul II. The meeting with the Polish community in Cyprus was also arranged. On the second day, the First Couple of Poland went to Paphos where – as recognition of the achievements of the Polish archaeologists in Cyprus – President Andrzej Duda received the „Golden Key to the Town” from the Mayor of Paphos, Mr Phedonas Phedonos.

The previous official visit of the President of the Republic of Poland to Cyprus took place in March 2005 when Aleksander Kwaśniewski arrived to the Cypriot capital. Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited the island in 2012 to participate in the high-level meeting of Poland-Denmark-Cyprus trio. The presidents of Cyprus, who also chair the Council of Ministers, have come to Poland several times but their visits were related to multilateral events. President Tassos Papadopoulos visited Poland twice in 2005 - taking part in the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau (January) and participating in the Third Council of Europe Summit in Warsaw (May). The next President Demetris Christofias was in Warsaw on 9 May 2011 at a meeting of heads of government of the EU Council trio. In May 2015, President Nicos Anastasiades took part in the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II at Westerplatte.

On May 16-18, 2023, the Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland Elżbieta Witek paid an official visit to the Republic of Cyprus. Its core subject was focused on the Russian aggression against Ukraine and further support for refugees. In April 2022 the President of the Cypriot House of Representatives, Annita Demetriou, arrived to Poland to participate in a meeting of women presidents of EU parliaments.

On 1-2 May 2019, then President of the House of Representatives Demetris Syllouris paid a visit to Warsaw, representing Cyprus at the jubilee meeting of the heads of state and government of countries that joined the EU in 2004, 2007 and 2013. He visited Poland also in September 2019 participating in the event commemorating the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, as well as in January 2020, presiding the Cypriot delegation for the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Cooperation between the bilateral friendship groups functioning in the parliaments of both countries is also maintained.

Contacts at the level of ministries of foreign affairs are well established. Minister of Foreign Affairs Witold Waszczykowski paid a visit to Nicosia in 2016, while the last visit of the head of Cypriot diplomacy in Warsaw took place in 2014. Intensive relations are maintained at the level of deputy foreign ministers. In November 2018 Nicosia was visited by the Secretary of State Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk, in March 2021 bilateral consultations took place in the form of a videoconference and in June 2022 the then Permanent Secretary of the Cypriot Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kornelios Korneliou came to Warsaw. Contacts are also developed at the level of MFA departments with the primary focus on the EU agenda, role of regional cooperation in foreign policy and Middle East policy. During the visit of the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda to the Republic of Cyprus, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the ministries of diplomacy on political consultations.

The cooperation between other ministries and institutions is carried out on an ongoing basis. Cypriot Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Costas Kadis visited Poland in December 2018, chairing the Cypriot delegation for COP24 in Katowice. In 2013 Ministers of Defense of Poland and Cyprus signed Agreement on bilateral cooperation in the field of defense. In September 2019 head of the National Security Bureau, Mr Paweł Soloch paid a  visit to Nicosia. In September 2020 ministers of agriculture signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of agriculture and rural development. During the visit of President Andrzej Duda in October 2021 two further sectoral documents were signed: Memorandum of Understanding between the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland and the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy of the Republic of Cyprus on cybersecurity and cyber cooperation and Programme of Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Cyprus in the fields of science, education, culture, sport and youth for the years 2021-2025. In 2022 Cyprus was visited by the secretary of state in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Marek Gróbarczyk. 
During the visit of the President of the Republic of Cyprus to Poland in May 2024, a memorandum on cooperation in the field of sports and a memorandum on the protection of intellectual property were signed.

Economic cooperation between Poland and Cyprus is characterized by a large diversity between a relatively low level of trade turnover and a high level of foreign direct investment. 

Cyprus is not a leading partner in the Polish commodity exchange, as evidenced by the ratio of the share of trade between Cyprus and Poland amounting to only 0,1 % of total exports and 0,06 % of total Polish imports. Bilateral trade exchange has always been characterized by a surplus of Polish exports, although in recent years the difference is decreasing. The data published by the Statistical Office of Poland shows that in 2020 the level of exports from Poland to Cyprus amounted to ca. 230 million euros (183 million euros in 2019) and the volume of imports from the Republic of Cyprus amounted to ca.140 million euros (98 million euros in 2019). Trade turnover between two countries closed with a positive balance for Poland of 90 million euros (85 million euros in 2019). Amongst goods exported from Poland in 2020, ships, boats and vessels, food products and mechanical equipment dominated. From Cyprus, we most willingly imported ships, boats and floating structures as well as products of plant and animal origin. For the last few years in Polish stores you can successfully buy Cypriot potatoes, citrus and halloumi cheese. 

Despite the limited small local market, economic relations between our countries have a great potential and the diversification of groups of export and import goods and annual fluctuations in trade may indicate that entrepreneurs are looking for new opportunities for cooperation. In 2019 the Polish-Cypriot Chamber of Commerce was reactivated. 

Before the pandemic an important area of economic cooperation between our countries was the tourism services sector. The number of Polish tourists in Cyprus was steadily increasing and at the same time our country was becoming more and more attractive for the Greek Cypriots. In 2018 Cyprus was visited by around 90,000 Poles, making them the fifth largest group of tourists from EU Member States. Poland was also an attractive place for Cypriots. This is evidenced by the analysis of the use of accommodation bases, according to which the number of Cypriot tourists using Polish hotels in 2017 increased by over 54%, and the number of Cypriots visiting Poland amounted to ca. 13 000. 

At the moment it is difficult to predict when the tourism sectors in both countries will rebound . The situation is mostly influenced by the epidemiological situation in the world, the success of the vaccination program and the duration of the travel restrictions.

The legal basis for bilateral cooperation is constituted by the Agreement between the Government of the Polish People's Republic and the Government of the Republic of Cyprus on cooperation in the fields of science, education and culture, prepared in Nicosia on February 1, 1973. Details are specified in the periodically adopted Programmes of Cooperation. During the visit the President of the Republic of Poland, Mr Andrzej Duda to Cyprus in October 2021 the next Programme was signed, for the time period 2021-2025.

The Polish Embassy in Nicosia promotes Polish culture in Cyprus. Among the activities carried out one should mention i.a. annual Polish Cinema Week, occasional concerts of Polish music and exhibitions presenting works of Polish artists.

Paphos, the city listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, plays a special role in the Polish-Cypriot relations. It is the place where Polish archaeologists have been present continuously since 1965. Initially, the research work was carried out by a team from the University of Warsaw under the supervision of Prof. Kazimierz Michałowski. The second mission, this time  from the Jagiellonian University, started excavations in 2011 and for the last few years has been supported also by experts from the Warsaw University of Technology. In autumn 2019 the decision was taken to combine all research groups under the leadership of Prof. Ewdoksja Papuci-Władyka from the Jagiellonian University. The achievements of Polish archaeologists and the need to continue and deepen Polish-Cypriot cooperation resulted in the idea of creating a Polish Research Center in the city of Paphos. The Center will become operational in the near future.

 

The Polish-Cypriot Cooperation Program in the fields of science, education and culture foresees the support of both parties for the establishment and development of direct cooperation between public and private Cypriot universities, other higher education institutions at university and non-university level and their counterparts in Poland in the field of exchange of researchers, academic staff and students, as well as information exchange in the field of research.

The Polish Embassy in Nicosia regularly promotes Polish universities on the occasion of educational fairs and other events organized in Cyprus.  

Recognition of academic qualifications

Poland and Cyprus, as EU Member States, automatically recognize certificates entitling to apply for admission to higher education in both countries, with the proviso that some of the certificates entitle to take only certain types of studies.

The issue of mutual recognition of diplomas and academic degrees is regulated on a similar basis. The documents must be, however, issued by accredited universities operating in the higher education system of a given country.