Building permits rose in January to November 2017 an annual 45% in terms of construction area, to 1,354,786 square metres and 53% in terms of budget to €1.6bn, the statistical service said.

The consumer price index fell in January 0.7% compared to the respective month of 2017, mainly on cheaper agricultural produce, the statistical service said.

Government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides appealed for unity following President Nicos Anastasiades' re-election, so that the country could tackle the challenges that lay ahead.

Ryanair recenttly announced a new Paphos route to Amman in Jordan, which will operate four times weekly from the end of March 2018, as part of its Summer 2018 schedule.

“Cyprus offers the interesting example of an economy saved with the help of economic adjustment and responsible reforms,” the Martens Centre, the European People’s Party (EPP) in house think tank has said.

Revenue from tourism rose in November 2017 by 6.8% to €89.5m compared to the respective month of 2016, against an increase in arrivals of 16%, the statistical service said.

Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis said recently the results of an ongoing exploratory natural gas drill off the island’s coast were encouraging but more time was needed because of the morphology of the seabed.

The European Investment Bank is to give €35 million to the Cyprus Organisation for Storage and Management of Oil Stocks (COSMOS) to build a 210,000 tonne privately owned storage facility.

The rate of unemployment in Cyprus rose on a monthly basis in December 2017 to 11.3%, from un upwards revised 11.1% in November, the European Commission’s statistical service said.

The maritime demarcation agreement with Cyprus paved the way for Egypt to grant concession areas for international companies in deep waters, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said.