CF2026

Cyprus Forum London

3 June 2026

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Cyprus Forum London serves as a platform for policy dialogue between Cyprus and the United Kingdom, bringing together policymakers, academics, business leaders, civil society representatives, and practitioners to engage on issues of shared regional and international importance.

As Cyprus and the United Kingdom maintain longstanding historical, political, educational, and economic ties, the forum aims to strengthen channels of dialogue and cooperation across sectors. Discussions focus on foreign policy, regional security, governance, innovation, investment, education, and the role of Cyprus within a rapidly evolving geopolitical environment.

By convening stakeholders from both countries, Cyprus Forum London contributes to deeper engagement between Cyprus and the international policy community, while fostering collaboration on challenges and opportunities affecting the Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, and beyond.

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Cyprus Forum London 2026

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CHRISTOS KARAOLIS

Christos Karaolis was elected President of the Federation for the first time in June 2015. He was unanimously re-elected for a fourth term in May 2023. He is the first third generation Cypriot elected to that position and the fifth President of the Federation since its establishment. He is a member of the President of Cyprus’ ‘Overseas Cypriots Advisory Committee’ and Vice President of POMAK (the World Federation of Overseas Cypriots). Christos is also a founding member of NEPOMAK and served as President of NEPOMAK UK from 2005 to 2006 and President of NEPOMAK from 2006 to 2014. 

Christos is a Partner at Bain & Company in their London office specialising in Financial Services strategy and Performance Improvement consulting. Christos has an MA in Jurisprudence from Trinity College, Oxford. He was later a Prince of Wales scholar at Gray’s Inn and qualified as a Barrister before joining Bain & Company.

ELENI COUREA

Eleni Courea is a political correspondent for the Guardian. She has covered British politics from the heart of Westminster for the past seven and a half years, previously reporting for The Times and Politico. She specialises in covering the UK’s relationship with the wider world and regularly appears on a range of radio and TV programmes including BBC Newsnight and Radio 4. She grew up in Nicosia, Cyprus and moved to Cambridge aged 19 for university. 

KYRIACOS KOUROS

Ambassador Kyriacόs Kouros assumed duties on 2 April 2024.

Prior to his appointment, High Commissioner Kouros, from April 2023 until assuming his duties, served as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic. Previously, he served as the Director of the Diplomatic Office of the President of the Republic, in addition to his assignment as National Security Advisor to the President of the Republic and Head of the Intelligence Service.

Mr Kouros is a career diplomat who joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus in 1996. During his versatile career, he has served in different overseas posts and in various departments within the Ministry.

In 2012, he was appointed Ambassador of Cyprus to the Netherlands with parallel accreditation as Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

In 2006, he was appointed Chargé d’ Affaires of the Republic of Cyprus to Lebanon and in 2009 he was accredited as Cyprus’ first resident Ambassador to the country. During his posting in Lebanon, he dealt with two major conflicts and the terrorism wave which affected the country between 2006-2008. In this respect, he facilitated the evacuation of thousands of Cypriot and other EU citizens, providing consular assistance to those in need under life threatening conditions. For his service during this time, he was awarded the National Medal of Cedar of the Government of Lebanon.

Other overseas postings included Athens and Geneva. He was also appointed Ministerial Envoy to Libya in July 2011 and served from 1998 to 2002 as a member of the Working Group for the Search of Missing Persons from the 1974 Turkish invasion.

Prior to joining the Foreign Ministry, he worked from 1990 as editor at the Cyprus News Agency and from 1994 as Lecturer at the Journalism Department of Frederick University of Cyprus.

He is a graduate of the Law Department of the University of Athens. He has a Master of Arts in International Journalism from the Journalism Department of City University of London and a PhD from the Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences of Athens.

He speaks Greek (mother tongue), English, German and French.

High Commissioner Kouros was born in Nicosia in 1963. He is married and has an adult daughter.

PHANOS THEOPHANOUS

Co-Founder and President Cypriots in the City.

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THEO PAPHITIS

Theo Paphitis, born in Cyprus in 1959, is a prominent retail entrepreneur and business leader, who left school at 16 years old to begin his career at Lloyds of London before moving into retail, where he later revitalised brands including Ryman, Robert Dyas and La Senza. He co-purchased Red Letter Days in 2005, later selling it successfully in 2017, and founded Boux Avenue in 2011.

His Theo Paphitis Retail Group spans 300 stores and 4,000 employees.  A former Chairman of Millwall Football Club, Theo is also known for his many years on BBC’s Dragons’ Den.  

He is a strong advocate for dyslexia awareness, being dyslexic himself. He is also a small business champion through his #SBS Small Business Sunday Community and recently became Visiting Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Derby.

TOUKER SULEYMAN

Touker Suleyman has 50 years’ retail and manufacturing experience and is best known as the owner of British menswear brand, Hawes & Curtis and womenswear label, Ghost. Touker joined the BBC’s Dragons’ Den in 2015 (Series 13).  

After a false start in accountancy, Touker kicked off his retail career at the age of 18. He entered into a joint venture in a leather factory and soon after established a clothing manufacturer, supplying to some of the biggest names of the British high street.

Touker’s rise in the business world has not been without challenges. In the 1980s auditors identified significant debt behind one of his business ventures and he had six weeks to find £2 million. Unfortunately a potential investor pulled out, forcing the business into liquidation, and he had to start again from nothing.

Touker went on to build a thriving international clothing manufacturer which still sits at the heart of his businesses. He and his daughter have recently launched Tashola – a trendy jewellery retail brand.  He is also now a serial entrepreneur, backing several retail and commercial property businesses. Touker has a keen interest in supporting start-ups and invests in a number of small British companies including Loop Generation (Circular Fashion), Matchstick Monkey (baby teethers & toys) and Sonisk (on-the-go toothbrushes & dental care).