Cyprus and Ukraine yesterday signed a protocol on the first session of the Joint Commission for Economic, Scientific, Technical and Industrial Cooperation, as part of efforts to further enhance economic relations between the two countries.

A total of 70.000 tourists more than the winter of 2012 are expected to visit Cyprus this coming winter, Tourism Minister George Lakkotrypis has said.

The government yesterday announced it was rolling-over €1.0 billion in debt with the same interest rate to facilitate cash-flow management and to ensure adequate funding.

The European Commission (EC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a joint statement issued on Thursday welcomed the announcement made by the Cypriot authorities to launch a voluntary debt exchange of Cypriot sovereign bonds.

Deposits in the Cypriot banking system in May registered a monthly drop of 2.51% to €55.92 billion compared with €57.37billion in April.

The Italian-Korean joint venture ENI/Kogas, operator of the natural gas exploration license for three blocks within the Cyprus offshore gasfields, have shown interest to invest in a supply train at the Vasiliko liquefaction plant.

Cyprus will be able to absorb €120 million from the 2014-2020 EU agricultural development programme, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Giorgos Kouyialis said, adding that during the first three years of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Troika, Cyprus will be able with hard work to absorb all the funds allocated to the Republic.

The Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) in Cyprus registered an improvement for the second consecutive month in June, after a record low in April, due to the developments in the financial sector, the University of Cyprus` Economic Research Centre (ERC) said.

Central Bank governor Panicos Demetriades has said that Laiki Bank, once the island’s second largest lender, was deliberately kept afloat by the European Central Bank in order to ‘protect’ foreign investors.

The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) on Wednesday gave Cyprus €1.0 billion, completing the first tranche of the island’s financial assistance programme.