Cyprus and France signed a declaration of intent in Paris on Monday that provides for co-productions, artist exchanges, joint exhibitions and cooperation on protecting cultural heritage. According to Cyprus’s Deputy Ministry of Culture, it is the first time cultural relations between the two countries have been given a formal framework.
Deputy Minister of Culture Klea Hadjistephanou-Papaellina and French Culture Minister Catherine Pegard signed the declaration during the Cypriot deputy minister’s visit to the French capital. The two agreed to put it into effect immediately, with specific actions and clearly defined priorities.
The Deputy Ministry said the aim was to turn existing cooperation into organised programmes and joint activities.
The declaration covers the development of joint cultural programmes and co-productions, and greater mobility for artists, cultural professionals and cultural organisations between the two countries. It also provides for joint exhibitions and research, creating a framework that cultural organisations and artists in both Cyprus and France can use.
It includes cooperation on tackling the illegal trafficking of cultural goods. This is an important area for Cyprus, which is continuing its efforts to trace and repatriate cultural treasures illegally exported from the island.
The declaration builds on the Cyprus-France Strategic Partnership, which Presidents Nikos Christodoulides and Emmanuel Macron signed in Paris last December. It also follows cultural exhibitions and events held in Paris in the first half of 2026 to mark Cyprus’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Although the Deputy Ministry said the framework would be activated immediately, its announcement does not yet name the first co-productions, the organisations taking part or a timetable. The next step is expected to be turning the declaration’s provisions into programmes that cultural organisations and artists in both countries can use.
