German president praises Cyprus' efforts to welcome refugees

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has praised the efforts of fellow EU member state Cyprus in taking in refugees.

"In relation to its total population, Cyprus is one of the countries in Europe most characterized by immigration," said Steinmeier on Tuesday at the end of his state visit to the island republic.

In terms of population size, Cyprus has received the most asylum applications in the European Union in recent years.

Steinmeier had previously visited a reception and accommodation centre for refugees in the town of Kofinou.

The centre can accommodate up to 450 refugees, but is currently being expanded. "After visiting this reception centre, we can say that the local authorities are really doing everything they can to ensure that people can stay there in dignity," Steinmeier said.

Around 55,000 people have currently found refuge in the country, Cypriot Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou had told Steinmeier. Germany had taken in around 1,000 migrants from Cyprus last year via the voluntary European solidarity mechanism.

Steinmeier was the first German president ever to pay a state visit to EU partner Cyprus. On the second day of his trip, he also visited a pilot school in the capital Nicosia, where German has recently been offered as a foreign language.

The island has been split into a Greek-Cypriot south and a smaller Turkish-Cypriot north since a Greek coup and a Turkish military intervention in 1974. Only Turkey recognizes Northern Cyprus as a full state.

The buffer zone between the two sides is monitored by UN peacekeepers.