It is imperative to focus on a fast post-Covid recovery, following the global disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Christodoulides has said.
“The current year has been a difficult one. The global pandemic has posed enormous challenges on all countries and has radically disrupted life,” Christodoulides told an online event for the presentation of EY’s first Attractiveness Survey.
Christodoulides noted that governments are required to safeguard public health by adopting extraordinary measures, such as lockdowns, to safeguard public health.
“As a result, economic activity has declined sharply, affecting also global foreign direct investment flows. It is therefore imperative to focus on a fast post-Covid recovery,” he stated.
Referring to the survey, Christodoulides described the findings concerning investors that operate in Cyprus as encouraging, but he stressed that “this of course does not mean that our Government is complacent.”
“We have always been promoting an ambitious reform agenda and we are committed to continue on the same path, especially in areas such as the judicial and health care systems and sectors such as digital transformation, tourism, research and innovation and green economy,” he added.
He noted “the story is somewhat different” with regard to the findings concerning investors who are not established on the island.
“The findings clearly indicate the need to swiftly act in this area,” he said, noting that the Ministry of Foreign has been developing a Strategy for Economic Diplomacy, which will be launched in early 2021.
As he noted, the strategy aims at creating value for Cyprus and Cypriot businesses from increased trade, Foreign Direct Investment, innovation and national branding, maximizing the benefits from diplomatic engagement.
“Our strategic objectives,” the Cypriot FM said, concern “inter alia the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment, which maximises value-added for the economy and can trigger innovation spill-overs, the promotion of a coherent and cohesive brand of Cyprus abroad, as well as addressing any misconceptions or lack of awareness about the benefits that our country offers.”
“In our efforts, we are working hand-in-hand with the major stakeholders of the business and economic ecosystem of Cyprus, in fully utilising the potential of our Diplomatic Missions abroad in promoting our economic interests”, he went on to say, adding that in was in this framework, that the Council of Ministers recently decided that the Government be represented in the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, fully capitalising on potential synergies.
Concluding, Christodoulides said he is “confident, that through our collective efforts we will be able to effectively address the challenges identified in the EY Attractiveness Report and render Cyprus an even more attractive investment destination.”
(CNA)
