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Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 10-06-28
CONTENTS
[01] COMMERCE MINISTER - CYPRUS - INVESTMENTS
[02] ENVE - CYPRUS - SEMINAR
[01] COMMERCE MINISTER - CYPRUS - INVESTMENTS
Cyprus provides an ideal environment for UK companies to grow and
expand their business activities, Minister of Commerce, Industry and
Tourism Antonis Paschalides has said. Addressing in London a seminar on
``The role of Cyprus as an international financial and business
centre``, Paschalides noted the strong and long-lasting links between
Cypriot and UK companies, as well as the Cypriot governments commitment
to support the strengthening of business relations between Cyprus and
the UK. Cyprus offers international investors the core competitive
advantages they seek before opting for an operational or business base,
he stressed.
The Cypriot Minister pointed out that such advantages include the
strategic geographical location of the island, the well-developed
socio-economic infrastructure and the wide range and quality of
professional services offered, the high educational level of its
manpower, the low corporate tax at 10%, which is the lowest in the
whole of EU and the wide knowledge of the English language. Referring
to the world economic crisis, he said that even under these
circumstances, Cyprus economy has maintained relative stability
compared to most EU member states. Cyprus was not affected directly by
the financial crisis. The financial sector of Cyprus has remained sound
throughout the crisis, with a strong liquidity position and a
comfortable capital adequacy, as well as sufficient profitability, he
went on to say. Paschalides said that Cyprus in 2008 enjoyed an
economic growth rate of about 3.6% and as such was amongst the first
three high performers in Eurozone, adding that the average growth
during the past five years was over 3%.
In addition, he said that indirect effects of the crisis came through
with a lag, especially affecting real estate and tourism. Growth in
2009 is estimated at -1,7% while we expect growth to pick up slightly
to 0.5% in 2010, and 1.5% in 2011 and gradually reach 3% by 2013, he
said. The Cypriot Minister said that despite the financial crisis, per
capita income in 2009 reached 21.400 euros which, according to the
World Bank, classifies Cyprus among the high-income countries. The
stability of the Cyprus economy is reflected in the long-standing low
inflation rates, he concluded.
[02] ENVE - CYPRUS - SEMINAR
The seminar on ``Promoting sustainable water management will take place
in Limassol, on the south coast of Cyprus, on 29 June in the context of
the 4th meeting of the Commission for the Environment, Climate Change
and Energy (ENVE) of the Committee of the Regions. Speaking at a press
conference held here Monday on the occasion of todays opening of the
4th Meeting of ENVE in Limassol, the Swedish Chairman of the ENVE
Commission Ilmar Reepalu said that tomorrows seminar would stress the
need for managing water resources in a more integrated and more
sustainable way.
Referring to the Committee of the Regions, Ripalou said that the
Committee comprises 344 members, representatives of regional and local
authorities of the EU. Their mission is to contribute to the
participation of regional and local authorities that represent in the
decision-making process of the EU and inform these authorities
regarding EU policies. ``In tomorrow`s seminar, we will be stressing
the need for managing water resources in a more integrated and more
sustainable way, both from a quantitative and quality point of view,
said the Commission Chairman.
He stressed that the seminar will also discuss ways of managing
phenomena of drought and floods caused by climate change. On his part,
President of Cyprus delegation to the Committee of the Regions, Kato
Polemidia Mayor George Georgiou said that the water shortage is perhaps
the biggest problem in the world, adding that as Cyprus, ``we want to
contribute to enriching the dialogue concerning water resources
management and sustainable development.``
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