The Personal Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on Cyprus, Ms. María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar visited the island from 11-18 September 2025 in preparation for upcoming meetings to be hosted by the Secretary-General in New York with the two Cypriot leaders. She met with Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides on 12 September and with the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on 15 September. In remarks to the media after her meetings with the two leaders, Ms. Holguín underlined that her visit was to gather a full picture of the situation on the island and provide an assessment to the Secretary-General. “I am coming to prepare the meeting in September with the Secretary-General and the two leaders. I want to report how things are on the island and what the ambiance is like,” she said after her discussion with Christodoulides.  She also emphasized that while the United Nations is doing its utmost to support the process, the responsibility for forward movement lies with the leaders: “The UN, the Secretary-General, and I are doing our best, but the leaders have to take decisions,” she stressed.

During her visit, she met with a number of stakeholders from both communities on a range of issues, including with members of the Technical Committees. Speaking after her meeting with Mr. Tatar, Ms. Holguín highlighted the key role of the Technical Committees, describing them as “very important for trying to put the people together for the future” and noting that they are “doing very well.” In discussions with the Technical Committee on Youth, a Committee that was formed by agreement of the two leaders at the March 2025 informal meeting in a broader format that took place in Geneva, it was clear that youth engagement was seen as key for tackling shared challenges on the island, and harnessing youth-driven dialogue as being critical to addressing common problems together.

As part of her efforts to gain a complete picture of the status of agreed trust building initiatives, Ms. Holguín visited the Turkish Cypriot cemetery in Tochni and the Greek Cypriot cemetery in Palaikythro/Balıkesir, accompanied by the Co-Chairs of the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage. The visit highlighted ongoing work to restore and preserve shared cultural heritage as a means of fostering reconciliation between the two communities. She also met the co-chairs of the Environment Technical Committee and stressed the importance of their work for the benefit and future of the island.

During engagements with representatives of the chambers of commerce, the discussion focused on the economic dimension of a possible settlement on the island and the private sector’s potential contribution to peacebuilding efforts. She also visited the Committee on Missing Persons.

On 16 September, when asked about the Cyprus issue at the press conference to mark the opening of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, the Secretary-General said that he was “determined”, stressing “I will not give up”.  (See Secretary-General's press conference following the start of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly | United Nations Secretary-General) 

The Secretary-General will host the two leaders at a trilateral meeting in New York on 27 September 2025, as was agreed at the last informal meeting in a broader format that took place in July that was attended by the Cypriot leaders as well as representatives from the three guarantor powers in the Cyprus context – Greece, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.