Cyprus and the Louvre discussed how the Paris museum’s expertise could be used for the new Archaeological Museum of Cyprus, as Deputy Minister of Culture Klea Hadjistephanou-Papaellina held talks with UNESCO and leading French cultural institutions in Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The meetings followed the signing on Monday of a declaration of intent on cultural cooperation between Cyprus and France. They were intended to identify specific projects, exchanges and partnerships to put the new framework into practice.
At the Louvre, Hadjistephanou-Papaellina met the museum’s president-director, Christophe Leribault. The two sides reaffirmed their intention to strengthen the Louvre’s long-standing archaeological cooperation with Cyprus, according to the Deputy Ministry of Culture.
They discussed how the Louvre’s museum expertise could help the new archaeological museum under construction in Nicosia, and the possibility of exchanging archaeological objects between the Louvre and Cypriot museums.
The talks built on the exhibition ‘Cyprus at the Louvre’, held during Cyprus’s presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2026. The deputy minister was also given a tour of the museum and its Cypriot collection.
UNESCO
At UNESCO’s headquarters, Hadjistephanou-Papaellina met Director-General Khaled Ahmed El-Enany and Nayef Al-Fayez, the assistant director-general for culture.
Their talks focused on protecting cultural heritage, tackling the illegal trade in cultural goods, and further promoting and protecting Cyprus’s World Heritage Sites and intangible cultural heritage.
She also said Cyprus wanted to work with UNESCO on initiatives on sustainable cultural tourism and on protecting cultural heritage from the effects of climate change.
Other meetings
At the National Library of France, she met its president, Gilles Pécoud, to discuss continuing their cooperation to further promote the library’s Cypriot collection, following the exhibition ‘Cyprus at the BnF’, also held during Cyprus’s EU Council presidency.
She also met the general administrator of the Comédie-Française, Clément Hervieu-Léger, and the Paris National Opera’s director of development, Evelyne Lacquit. They discussed possible partnerships, sharing expertise and cultural exchanges with Cypriot organisations, and whether the two French institutions might take part in festivals and cultural events in Cyprus.
The deputy minister was accompanied by the Deputy Ministry of Culture’s director general, Giorgos Papageorgiou, and Cyprus’s ambassador in Paris, Pavlos Kombos.
