Nicosia, Cyprus. Newly appointed Agriculture Minister Christos Senekis pledged to deliver “tangible results” and build on the work of his predecessor, Maria Panayiotou, after being sworn in on Thursday during President Nikos Christodoulides’ cabinet reshuffle.
Speaking on behalf of the newly appointed government members at the presidential palace, Senekis said the appointments carried a “heavy responsibility” towards the country, its institutions and the public.
Commitment to government programme
Senekis described the mandate entrusted to the new ministers as a “supreme honour” and said the government would work to implement Christodoulides’ programme “until the very end”.
He said he was “fully aware of the challenges facing the country” and pledged that the new ministers would work “with all our might” to implement government policy while defending the public interest.
“Our only ambition and expectation is to have responded to the greatest possible extent to the expectations of the public and to leave behind a substantial, positive imprint,” he said.
Tribute to outgoing ministers
Senekis paid tribute to outgoing ministers, saying they had left behind “important work and a valuable legacy”.
He succeeds Panayiotou, who leaves the agriculture ministry after more than two and a half years in office.
Her tenure included this year’s foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, disputes over compensation for affected livestock farmers and criticism of the government’s handling of last summer’s deadly Limassol wildfire.
Professional background
Before joining the government, Senekis served as a Diko MP between 2021 and 2026.
He is a lawyer, an international relations graduate and a computer scientist. He has also worked in the private sector and served as director of the parliamentary press office.
