Cyprus-Polish relations are foreign relations between

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. Diplomatic relations between both countries were established during the 1960s. Cyprus has an embassy in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

and 2 honorary consulates (in

Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...

and Szczecin). Poland has an embassy in Nicosia and an honorary consulate general in

Limassol Limassol (; el, Λεμεσός, Lemesós ; tr, Limasol or ) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population ...

. The two countries share membership of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

, Council of Europe and

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, pro ...

. The two countries became members of the

in 2004.

History

One of the first recorded contacts between Poland and Cyprus was in 1364, during a meeting of kings, princes and noblemen at the famous

Congress of Kraków The Congress of Kraków (Polish: ''Zjazd krakowski'') was a meeting of monarchs initiated by King Casimir III the Great of Poland and held in Kraków (Cracow) around September 22–27, 1364. The pretext for calling the meeting was very likely a pr ...

. One of its participants was king

Peter I of Cyprus Peter I (9 October 1328 – 17 January 1369) was King of Cyprus and titular King of Jerusalem from his father's abdication on 24 November 1358 until his death in 1369. He was invested as titular Count of Tripoli in 1346. As King of Cyprus ...

, who was trying to drum up support for a crusade to liberate the Holy land. Throughout the Middle Ages, Polish travelers en route to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

via the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

route would often stop in Cyprus, and some settled there permanently. A prominent visitor was Boguslaw X the Great, ruler of

West Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (german: Vorpommern), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania forming the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, Weste ...

, in April 1497. However, with the conquest of Cyprus by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in 1570, contact between the two countries ceased for almost 300 years. In the 19th century Polish travelers again started visiting Cyprus, with growing numbers after the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

gained control of the island after the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

500 refugee Polish dignitaries and their families arrived in Cyprus in September 1940. Among them was the writer Melchior Wankowicz.

Cultural Ties

The Polish people are predominantly

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, but the

Polish Orthodox Church The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church ( pl, Polski Autokefaliczny Kościół Prawosławny), commonly known as the Polish Orthodox Church, or Orthodox Church of Poland, is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches in full communion. Th ...

has a significant following in the east of Poland and is in full communion with the

Cypriot Orthodox Church The Church of Cyprus ( el, Ἐκκλησία τῆς Κύπρου, translit=Ekklisia tis Kyprou; tr, Kıbrıs Kilisesi) is one of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox churches that together with other Eastern Orthodox churches form the communion ...

. Both churches have suffered oppression in their countries. In 2009, Archbishop Leon of Karelia and all

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

suggested that Cyprus, Poland and the Finnish Orthodox Church claim the restoration of their cultural heritage from the EU. Artistic group of musicians from the Anadyomene' Secret Rec. label is a Polish-Cypriot activity. It is a combination of artists born in Poland and artists working in Cyprus (i.e. Agnes de Venice, Xenia Agapene, Brunette Models, Eremites Katoteros e.t.c.) under the influence of both cultures, as for example a

Christian mysticism Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative presence of God" ...

as a possible prayer to God from

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

influence and the musical prayer, as a kind of hesychasm from

influence. Polish-Cypriot musical project
Anadyomene' Secret Rec. Retrieved 2018-11-26.Newsweek Polska, No. 29/2004 (18 July 2004), ISSN 1642-5685, p.106.

Official Contacts

Between 1971 and 2000, Poland and Cyprus concluded 15 agreements on subject such as air transport, trade, visas, shipping and taxation. For example, in September 1998 the countries signed an agreement in Nicosia that defined exchanges in the fields of science, education, culture, art, archaeology, sports and communications. In August 2008, the Polish Ambassador in Nicosia Zbigniew Szymanski said that since EU accession the two countries have found additional areas for closer cooperation, and stressed the close contacts between the leaders of Poland and Cyprus. He also referred to planning for the joint presidency of the EU by Cyprus, Poland and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. Poland will take over the EU presidency in the second half of 2011, followed by Denmark and Cyprus. Leaders of the three countries are committed to joint action on the economic crisis and the EU's 2014-2020 budget.

Poles in Cyprus

Since both Cyprus and Poland became members of the European Union in May 2004, perhaps 350 Poles have established permanent residence in Cyprus, and 2,500 Polish workers are temporary residents of the island. A Polish school established in 1999 helps children of Polish parents to maintain language skills and knowledge of Poland.

Economic links

The Cyprus-Polish Business Association, officially sponsored by the Polish and Cypriot governments and with many Cypriot/Polish businesses as members, works to bring people of the two countries into closer contact and develop their relations on many different levels. The efficient, low-rate business taxes in Cyprus and the

tax treaty A tax treaty, also called double tax agreement (DTA) or double tax avoidance agreement (DTAA), is an agreement between two countries to avoid or mitigate double taxation. Such treaties may cover a range of taxes including income taxes, inheritance ...

between Cyprus and Poland favor entrepreneurs who decide to base their company in Cyprus although doing business in Poland. A number of companies have taken advantage of this opportunity.

References

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