The UN secretary-general’s personal envoy, Maria Angela Holguin, arrives in Cyprus tonight ahead of a fresh round of contacts.

She will meet the Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhurman, on Friday and the president of the republic, Nikos Christodoulides, on Saturday, as part of efforts for renewed progress on negotiations.

UN sources inform that Holguin’s meeting with Erhurman will take place at 11am on Friday, followed by her meeting with Christodoulides at 10am on Saturday.

The visit comes as the Greek Cypriot negotiator, Menelaos Menelaou, and Mehmet Dana, the Turkish Cypriot representative, met last Friday at Ledra Palace to advance technical groundwork ahead of Holguin’s presence.

The envoy is also expected to hold a joint roundtable with the two leaders on December 11, an arrangement agreed during their first meeting on 20 November.