Category: General

Cyprus’ Defence Minister, Charalambos Petrides was on an official visit to Serbia on Tuesday during which he discussed with his Serbian counterpart, Milos Vucevic, the relations of the two countries in the field of defence and security, the current developments in the eastern Mediterranean and the wider region of the Western Balkans, the ongoing war in Ukraine and increasing Turkish provocations in Cyprus.

According to a press release by the Defence Ministry, Petrides is in Serbia on the invitation of Vucevic.

The two Ministers, held discussions concerning the relations of the two countries in the field of defence and security, the current developments in the eastern Mediterranean and the wider region of the Western Balkans, as well as the ongoing war in Ukraine, it said.

Petrides, it adds, expressed the support of the government of the Republic of Cyprus for Serbia’s accession to the European Union.

In addition to the meeting with his counterpart, Petrides held meetings with the President of the Serbian National Assembly, Vladimir Orlic, and with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ivica Dacic.

It adds, that, in all the meetings, Petrides informed his interlocutors about the security situation in Cyprus, with an emphasis on the increasing Turkish provocation which, is a source of instability, as it is noted.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Vice President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Irene Charalambides flies on Monday to the Hague to participate as the OSCE PA Special Representative on combating corruption in a High Level Discussion on combating corruption organized by the governments of Canada, the Netherlands and Ecuador.

According to a House of Representatives press release, representatives of international organizations and international non government organizations dealing with combating corruption will participate in the discussion. These include among others Eurojust, the International Anti-Corruption Academy, Transparency International and the Bazel Institute on Governance.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Total deposits reached €52 billion in October in Cyprus, while loans dropped to €28 billion, according to data published by the Central Bank of Cyprus, which are included in the November 2022 edition of Monetary and Financial Statistics.

According to a CBC statement, total deposits in October 2022 recorded a net increase of €434.5 million, compared with a net increase of €141.8 million in September 2022. The annual growth rate stood at 0.9%, compared with 0.6% in September 2022. The outstanding amount of deposits reached €52 billion in October 2022.

At the same time, total loans in October 2022 recorded a net decrease of €171.9 million, compared with a net decrease of €110.9 million in September 2022. The annual growth rate stood at 0.9%, compared with 1.4% in September 2022. The outstanding amount of total loans reached €28 billion in October 2022.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

In November 2022, economic sentiment in Cyprus deteriorated slightly, as the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI-CypERC) decreased by 0.5 points compared with October 2022, according to the Business and Consumer Survey by the University of Cyprus, released Monday.

The small decrease in the ESI-CypERC was driven by weaker business confidence in services, industry, and, to a lesser degree, retail trade.

Moreover, the survey shows that the Services Confidence Indicator declined, as firms’ views on their past and expected turnover worsened while the small reduction in the Retail Trade Confidence Indicator resulted from a deterioration in firms’ assessments of past sales and downward revisions in sales expectations.

The survey further shows that the rise in the Construction Confidence Indicator was driven by improved assessments of the current levels of order books and upward revisions in employment expectations.

The Industry Confidence Indicator decreased, for the second consecutive month, as firms’ assessments of the current level of order books worsened markedly.

The Consumer Confidence Indicator picked up, as most of its components improved. Consumers assessed their recent financial conditions more favourably and revised their expectations about the country’s future economic conditions upwards, UCy Survey reads.

Furthermore, consumers’ intentions to make major purchases in the near future strengthened.

In November, economic uncertainty in Cyprus increased marginally. Uncertainty in retail trade, construction and industry rose, while uncertainty in services remained broadly stable at the levels registered in the previous three months.

Uncertainty among consumers declined further in November.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Shipping Deputy Minister to the President, Vassilis Demetriades, is visiting Hamburg where he is holding contacts with executives of shipping companies and financial institutions based in Hamburg.

According to a press release by the Ministry, the Deputy Minister, during his visit, will present the advantages of Cypriot shipping and Cyprus in general as a maritime center, with the aim of creating conditions for attracting new shipping companies to Cyprus and to the Cypriot registry.

In addition, on Wednesday, November 30th, the Deputy Minister will present to the Hamburg maritime community the strategic vision for Cypriot shipping “SEA Change 2030”, while he will also analyze the initiatives that Cyprus is taking at European and international level to effectively address the challenges facing global shipping.

Demetriades will return to Cyprus on Thursday, December 1st.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The solution of the Cyprus problem could be a win- win situation for all stakeholders, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides has said, adding that there is a great possibility for this provided that there is political will.

In an interview he gave recently to Aljazeera, the Minister also underlined that the Greek Cypriot side remains faithful to the reunification of the country and referred to the recent agreement between Lebanon and Israel, saying that the Lebanese and Israelis would never have had this agreement without the involvement of the US calling for help from the international community and in particular from countries that can work with Turkey.

Asked about the recent agreement reached between Lebanon and Israel, establishing a permanent Israel-Lebanon maritime boundary. He said that it is an extremely helpful development, noting that Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone is adjacent to theirs.

Secondly, he stressed the fact that “two parties like Lebanon and Israel who officially are in a state of war and who do not recognise each other, they have managed, through the mediation of the US and I congratulate the US for this, they have reached an agreement”.

This, Kasoulides said, “is a very good example for ourselves and Turkey” and underlined that “Turkey so far has refused that we do a similar kind of negotiation and arrangement in delimitating our respective EEZ with the justification that they do not recognize us. But here is an example that this can be done without a solution of the political problem so they can recognize us”.

“So, we have offered talks, and if these talks fail let us go to The Hague and we are prepared to accept the arbitration of The Hague. The next priority are the needs of our EU partners of natural gas and this has to come before other considerations and this applies both to Turkey and to ourselves,” he noted.

He stressed that “all problems do get solutions and ours will get as well” adding that “our side remains faithful to the reunification of our country, the Lebanese and Israelis would never have had this agreement without the involvement of the US, we need some help from the international community and in particular from countries that can work with Turkey”.

Invited to clarify what kind of help he means, Kasoulides said “diplomatic certainly”.

Asked if he believes the EU should be doing more, he replied “there is room for more”.

Replying to an other question, Kasoulides said that “I can imagine a solution that would be a win- win situation for all stakeholders, the two communities in Cyprus, Turkey, Greece and I think there is a great possibility for this provided that there is political will.”

Replying to questions about the latest effort to solve the Cyprus issue, in Crans Montana, Kasoulides said that we had at that time come so close to reaching a settlement and noted that what was needed was to be re-invited in a couple of weeks and continue from where things were left.

It was a great opportunity, he pointed out, saying that “I think that had it followed suit in the immediate interval after these talks it would have yielded results.”

But he noted that after this the Turkish position had changed by 180 degrees and they have ceased to seek a settlement based on the UN resolutions and they have put a precondition now for the Greek Cypriot side to accept separate sovereignty and equal international status before we sit on the table. He described this precondition as totally unacceptable.

On Cyprus’ energy reserves he said that “we are hopeful that in the midterm, that is to say in a couple of years, because Europe urgently needs natural gas that we will be able to supply and contribute”.

As regards the situation in Ukraine, the Minister said that Nicosia is very sensitive to the issues of territorial integrity, sovereignty and to non annexation of parts of a country to an other, therefore it had to join its EU partners in the response to the Russian invasion.

“We want to be acknowledged -and we are – as a reliable, predictable partner to the EU” he said, adding that Cyprus took part in the unanimous decisions regarding the sanctions and is implementing those sanctions diligently.

He also pointed out that Cyprus had to come a long distance to reach this goal much longer than any other of the partners who already did not have the links that Cyprus has had with Russia.

Replying to other questions, he clarified that Cyprus does not intend to send weapons to Ukraine since “we need them here in Cyprus”. Asked what weapons will Cyprus acquire from the US now that the embargo is lifted, Kasoulides said that this is question for the Ministry of Defence saying that “now they have the American markets as well as other markets, like France, Israel, to consider”.

Replying to a comment from the journalist that the Turks say that this is very alarming, the Cypriot Foreign Minister said: “Are they so afraid of us? Shame on them. A country so big and important, they say they are a big regional power, and for a few weapons that we will buy? I think they are looking for an excuse”.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Frederick University and Jordan University of Science and Technology – JUST signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to develop joint research activity and participate in research programmes.

A press release from Frederick University said the two academic institutions acknowledged the mutual benefits that could arise from their cooperation with JUST considered one of the top institutions in Jordan and the Middle East with worldwide distinctions.

The two universities will seek to develop joint actions in the fields where they have know-how and will promote cooperation of academic and administrative staff through exchange programmes. They will develop joint research activity and participate in academic and research programmes.

During the ceremony which took place on 8 November, Rector of Frederick University, Professor George Demosthenous said that the memorandum is the start a series of activities for the benefit of both universities and countries.

He also praised the role of Jordan’s Ambassador to Cyprus, Mohammad El-Fayez in developing the academic relations of the two countries.

The Jordanian Ambassador to Cyprus said he hoped that cooperation between the two Universities will bear fruit”. On his part, Ambassador of Cyprus to Jordan, Michalis Ioannou, congratulated the two Universities and pointed out that the cooperation of academic institutions is a priority in further developing the relations between the two countries.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Minister of Education, Sports and Youth Prodromos Prodromou will participate in the deliberations of the Council of Ministers of Education, Youth, Culture and Sports of the European Union and the 5th European Conference on education entitled: “Bright Young Minds” that will take place in Brussels.

According to a press release, during his stay in the Belgian capital, Prodromou will also visit the Brussels III European School.

The Minister returns to Cyprus on December 4, 2022.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on Monday presented the Order of the Madara Horseman, First Class, to outgoing Cypriot Ambassador to Bulgaria Marios Kountourides for his contribution to strengthening and promoting relations between the two countries.

Radev said that Bulgaria and Cyprus remain an example of fruitful cooperation, of a common approach to the challenges of the EU and actively contribute to peace, security and stability in the region. The award is a recognition of the consistent efforts of Kountourides to develop the political, economic and cultural ties between the two countries, the Bulgarian President added.

Deep cultural and historical ties lie at the very heart of the fruitful relations between Bulgaria and Cyprus, Radev said.

Today, these ties are maintained by the Bulgarian community in Cyprus, which numbers some 25,000 people, by the community of Cypriot graduates in Bulgaria, by the 300 students from Cyprus who are now continuing their higher education in Bulgaria, he stressed, adding that those people create an important bridge for bilateral relations, which both countries will continue to develop over the years.

Kountourides, whose term of office in Sofia is coming to an end, emphasized on the deepening of relations between Bulgaria and Cyprus, adding that they are based on mutual respect, common values and goals. There is an exceptional level of trust and friendship between the governments and peoples of Bulgaria and Cyprus, the Cypriot diplomat also said.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus has managed to achieve solutions so as to limit the effects from the implementation of the EU targets for reducing air pollution, Minister of Transport, Communications and Works Yiannis Karousos, said on Monday before the House of Representatives’ Committee on Finance.

The Minister, who presented his Ministry’s budget for 2023, referred to the declaration of air connectivity by 2027 at EU level, saying that following a study and relevant proposals, Cyprus achieved solutions that were approved, recognising the special conditions of Cyprus and of the island regions.

He said that there will be a 100% subsidy of the difference of the price of conventional fuel and biofuel with free emission trading rights for airlines. He added that there were also some exemptions for airline refueling for countries such as Cyprus and Malta, as well as a commitment by the European Commission to prepare a report on the impact of its pollution policy on island connectivity.

Karousos also said that the liberalization of airport ground services has brought benefits to airlines due to the 50% reduction in costs. He highlighted the positive results from the implementation of the new 165 million euro incentive plans for 2023-27 and said that the three planes announced to be based in Cyprus will bring an increase of 1.3 million seats.

Thanks these developments he added, there was no increase in ticket prices in Cyprus compared to other countries.

The Minister said that the goal is to increase passenger traffic by 52% until 2027.

As regards air routes he said that there were 145 routes in 2022 plus seven announced a few days ago. He also spoke of an upward trend in cruises noting that bookings increased from 9,000 in 2019 to 188,000 in 2022, while for 2023 there are calls for 207 cruise ship arrivals compared to 106 in 2019.

Furthermore, the Minister referred to the development of the port and Marina of Larnaca, an investment of 1.2 billion euro and said that the benefit will reach 120 million euro per year. He added that 600 berths and 4,000 jobs will be created.

Regarding the Ministry’s budget for 2023 he said it amounts to 469.45 million euro, which includes 35 million of co-financed projects. He noted that there is an upward trend in the Ministry’s budget, which since 2015 has reached approximately 82%.

The Minister also announced a new grant for the purchase of electric vehicles amounting to 30 million to be announced in the coming weeks as well as a plan to withdraw polluting vehicles amounting to 15 million euro. The goal, he said, is that by 2035 all new registrations will be electric vehicles.

Source: Cyprus News Agency