Ms Annita Demetriou:

Now, we are talking about a different political era and a very difficult stage that we need to overcome in order to proceed to the future we want to safeguard, including our norms, principles and the pathway we want to follow. One thousand thanks for your support and everything you have offered to us and especially the opportunity to be here today and to have these important meetings. We can invest in many sectors: tourism, education, agriculture and technology. There are so many things we can accomplish. That is why I am so happy we have a follow-up after the visit of the Ceann Comhairle to Cyprus. We have managed to make a lot of progress in a lot of sectors. Yes, the answer is to work together.

I am glad the Senator referred to moral injury and refugees. We know because some people are still alive and still some refugees are waiting to return. We still have missing persons, and yes, it is passed down through the generations. The only answer is peace and reunification and reconciliation, nothing else. We cannot be apart from or on the opposite side of the resolutions of the United Nations. Nothing is accomplished by such perspectives. I know that sometimes fear is more easily spread but hope is really important and necessary. This is our job and our responsibility, to give people hope and a positive message. We need to give them the right answers even though they sometimes do not want to hear them. Yes, they will acknowledge that after a couple of years, so I believe in diplomacy. I will always be a romantic, pragmatic, idealist in this very difficult world. Yes, we need to do more about the climate crisis and we need to understand that the bell has already been rung and we are already running late in all the things and all the policies we were supposed to accomplish. At least now we need to foresee and see how we push things forward.

I will conclude with the necessity to understand that today, more than ever, our values and norms are so important. They are the things we invest all these years in not being involved with cruelty such as invasions and occupations and so on. I am really disappointed because I taught my students that I belonged to a generation that never experienced war. Unfortunately, now that is not the case because Europe is suffering from an ongoing invasion and occupation. It is the same for my country where after 49 years we are still urging for peace to prevail. That is why we are so grateful for Ireland's support. We are grateful that we have it and we will succeed and upgrade our relations in so many other sectors. Thank you once more for your support and your solidarity. Bear in mind, that always over the centuries, evil and bad have fought the good but we know who is going to win in the end. Thank you so much for this opportunity and thank you for being here today.