Paphos has a new university. A branch of the American University of Beirut was recently opened in the cultural capital of Cyprus.
This event was eagerly awaited not only by students, but also by the city's municipality. In fact, local officials are actively promoting Paphos as a major educational centre in Cyprus.
The President of the island state, Nicos Christodoulidis, attended the ceremony. He described the opening of the campus as 'an important step for Cyprus in its quest for excellence in education'.
This important event is of great significance both for the institution and for Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean region as a whole. The opening of the branch campus of the American University of Beirut is a testament to the excellent historical relations between our countries and a sign of the strengthening of regional cooperation in the field of education,' the President said.
For his part, the Mayor of Paphos, Fedonas Fedonos, described the event as one of the most important in the city's history.
The new university will help transform Paphos into a prestigious regional centre of higher education. It will bring the best minds from neighbouring countries to our city for education. I am sure that some of them will stay here permanently, which will increase the importance of our city," the mayor said.
The American University of Beirut was founded in 1866 by the American missionary Daniel Bliss. In 2022, the university signed an agreement with Paphos municipality to open its first campus outside Lebanon in the city. As part of the agreement, the foreign university was given a complex of buildings and a large plot of land in the Haroupomili neighbourhood on which to build the massive project. It took just over 30 days to coordinate the architectural plan and obtain all the necessary permits for the modernisation of the buildings and the construction of new ones. The cost of the project is estimated at €29 million.
