Addressing the summit, the Finance Minister, Mr. Haris Georgiades, stated that Cyprus’ economy has entered a new, promising period, leaving thee hardship suffered in previous years. He noted that the difficulties between 2009 and 2014 were “a story of the past” and today the country is one of the fastest growing economies in the EU, having added almost 19% to its GDP since.

Mr. Georgiades emphasized: “We have covered the lost ground and expect the growth rate to remain over 3% annually for at least the next three years.” Moreover, it was noted that all key sectors of the economy and namely tourism, shipping, real estate and services were performing well and that new sectors are also emerging such as higher education, research and innovation, natural gas, renewable energy sources and investment fund management.

Mr. Georgiades said: “It is the job of the government to establish conditions of stability and confidence so as to create a business-friendly environment, allowing the economy’s productive forces, essentially the private sector, to do its job. This is what makes economic growth viable.”

The director general of Invest Cyprus, Mr. George Campanellas highlighted that “ Cyprus is an ideal choice for a business base for the ICT and software development sector, since it offers access to the EU and other emerging markets, it has an attractive tax framework, a talented human capital as well as a good quality of life and low operating costs for businesses.”