 Today in the next installment in our ambassador series, we're joined by Trevor Peacock, Australia's High Commissioner to Cyprus. Trevor, thanks for joining us. It's a pleasure. Trevor, how would you characterize the relationship between Australia and Cyprus? Well, it's a very, very warm relationship. The bedrock of it is the community relations that we have. Australia has the second biggest expatriate community of Cypriots in the world, both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. And that gives us a real basis of friendship, a real basis of knowing each other as countries. It's almost a relationship of being a family rather than just friends. And you really notice that very, very much when you're in Cyprus, when you're representing Australia in Cyprus, the number of people that you meet who have family in Australia is really quite amazing. And so you, in turn, as an Australian diplomatic representative, really feel as part of a family in Cyprus. That natural warmth is matched by a commonality of views on international global issues and perspectives. We're both members of the Commonwealth. We both share a very solid commitment to human rights, to the rule of law, including the rule of international law. So we find ourselves as very friendly countries which get on well, understand each other well, and relate to each other well with that community relationship as the bedrock of it. So Trevor, turning to the big issue, what is Australia's position on the ongoing division of the island? Well, our position is very clear and has been very consistent always. We recognise the government of the Republic of Cyprus as the sole legitimate government on the island. We recognise its sovereignty and its territorial integrity over the whole of the island. At the same time, we are very supportive of the negotiations which are taking place at the moment. We've been facilitated and chaired by the UN's UN Secretary-General's Special Advisor, Alexander Downer, to bring about a reconciliation and a reunification of the island. We believe that reunification, in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions, ought to be based on a by-zonal, by-communal federation with one international citizenship, one international personality. Trevor, you've mentioned the role of Mr Downer, Australia's former Foreign Minister, but what is Australia doing to help Cyprus with the current situation and to encourage a solution? Well, there are two very tangible things that we're doing. One is that we've maintained for 48 years now without any break an Australian federal police contingent within UNFASIP, which is the UN Force in Cyprus, Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus. The UNFASIP includes both a military and a police element. We are the largest group within the police element and, in fact, the commander of the UN police, Unpol, is an Australian AFP officer. They do very, very good work. It makes you very proud as an Australian High Commissioner to see the role that the police are playing in and around the buffer zone, ensuring its stability and that there's nothing there, nothing will go on there that threatens the stability and the security of the island and of the two communities around the buffer zone. They've played a very good role for 48 years now and they really are excellent police men and women that we send there. I'm very proud of them and we all should be proud of them. Secondly, as a much more recent contribution, as a High Commission we sponsor the Cyprus Academic Dialogue, which came into being in 2009. It was actually an initiative of the Centre for Dialogue at La Trobe University. What it does is it brings together academics from both the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot academic communities to sit down together, to find what points they have in common, to find what solutions they might be able to come up with to the problems that the island faces. They develop views on the negotiations themselves and other views on separate issues alongside the negotiations. For example, how do you deal with the issue of education in both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot schools? The dialogue has been a big success. It's had one or two major gatherings every year since 2009. Meetings in Cyprus, but they also had a meeting this year in Istanbul to make it easier for Turkish and Greek academics to be brought into the process alongside the Cypriots. They're getting a very good profile within Cyprus. They're taken very seriously by the media and by decision makers. They're meeting regularly with decision makers in both communities. And we are getting a lot of very good recognition for supporting this process. So again, it's a very good thing that we're doing and something tangible, which hopefully will help to heal the problems of the island. Understand Cyprus has the rotating presidency of the European Union at the moment. How is it handling that role? I think it's been an unambiguous good news story for Cyprus. They've really done this well. It was hard for them as one of the European Union's smallest member states and taking on the presidency for the first time as they did in July. I think the successful management of the presidency creates logistical challenges for any member state. It's a very big role, a very big responsibility, given the change in the way that the EU works under the Lisbon Treaty. But I have heard nothing but praise for the way in which the Government of Cyprus has organised the various ministerial meetings that it's hosted. But beyond that, it's played a very useful policy role, I think, especially on what's one of the biggest problems and challenges facing the European Union at the moment, which is settling on a multi-annual financial framework, a budget for the next seven years, and a budget in which all 27 or with which all 27 member states have to be in agreement. It's a huge exercise. Cyprus has played a very good role in clarifying thinking and setting out possible directions for this to be handled. Especially I think in including an element of consultation with the European Parliament. That's a new element under the Lisbon Treaty. And again, I've heard nothing but praise for the way in which Cyprus, as the presidency of the European Union, has been able to assist them along in meeting this challenge. Trevor, I assume you do see a number of Australian tourists in Cyprus. Any tips? We don't actually see as many as you might think. The best numbers we have are that about 60,000 Australians visit each year. And most of those are members of the communities going back for the summer. I would encourage more Australians to visit Cyprus. It has wonderful beaches, spectacular mountains. It has a real wealth of archaeological and historical sites and places of interest. For anybody who has an interest in the past and an interest in seeing how different cultures over millennia have affected a small country like Cyprus and mixed together there and how Cyprus in its turn, although a small island, has made its own impact on those cultures, a visit to Cyprus is very, very rewarding. And the food is good as well and the people are extremely friendly and do love Australians. Of course, in suggesting that Australians think about visiting to Cyprus, I would further suggest that before they go, they should have a look at the Smartraveler website and have a look at the advice that we are offering as they plan their trip and as they travel. Trevor, thanks very much for joining us. Pleasure. That was Trevor Peacock Australia's High Commissioner to Cyprus.