Cyprus has long been seen as strategically important, located as it is at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Today, there are fresh challenges: how to manage the hydrocarbon reserves found off its coastline; cooperating with moderate governments in the neighbourhood to promote stability and security; and, working with international allies in order to respond to terrorism and organised crime in the region. In this talk, Alexandros Zenon reviewed the strategic challenges Cyprus faces in the future and the opportunities to address them effectively.

Meet our speakers and chair

Alexandros N. Zenon has served as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus from 2006 to 2008 and from 2013 to 2018. From 2008 until 2013 he was High Commissioner of Cyprus to the UK while from 2015 until 2018 he was the Coordinator for counter-terrorism and anti-ISIS. He was advisor to the Greek Alternate Minister of Migration and Asylum (2019-2020). Previously he served as Ambassador in Italy (2000-2005) and the Netherlands (1996-2000). Ambassador Zenon was born in Limassol-Cyprus in 1953, read law at the National University of Athens and holds a post graduate degree (DEA) from Sorbonne University (Paris) in International Affairs and Defence Studies. He is a member of the Scientific Board of the European Public Law Organization.

Emmanuel Karagiannis (@E_Karagiannis) is a Reader in International Security at King’s College London’s Department of Defence Studies. He obtained a PhD in Islamic theology from King’s College London and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Hull. He held research positions in Oxford University, U.S Military Academy at West Point, London School of Economics, Princeton University, Yale University, and Columbia University. He has published extensively on terrorism, political Islam, Russian foreign policy, and the geopolitics of the Eastern Mediterranean. His new book Why Islamists Go Green will be published by Edinburgh University Press in 2022.

Kevin Featherstone is Eleftherios Venizelos Professor in Contemporary Greek Studies and Professor in European Politics in the European Institute at LSE, where he is also Director of the Hellenic Observatory.

The twitter Hashtag for this event is: #LSECyprus

Video

You can watch the video here.

The Hellenic Observatory (@HO_LSE) is internationally recognised as one of the premier research centres on contemporary Greece and Cyprus. It engages in a range of activities, including developing and supporting academic and policy-related research; organisation of conferences, seminars and workshops; academic exchange through visiting fellowships and internships; as well as teaching at the graduate level through LSE's European Institute.