Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 10-07-29

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] LEADERS - DINNER

[02] UAE - CYPRUS ISSUE

[03] CYPRUS - FISCAL DEFICIT

[04] RUSSIA - TOURISM

[01] LEADERS - DINNER

President Christofias told the Press before departing from Eroglu`s residence that they spent a pleasant evening as the leaders of the two communities and added: Surely, we are trying to build a better relation, which will have a political effect with positive results in the effort to solve the Cyprus problem.

He also said thanked Eroglu and his spouse for the dinner.

Eroglu also made statements, speaking in Turkish without an official translation. According to an unofficial translation, the Turkish Cypriot leader said, inter alia, that they did not discuss the Cyprus issue. We have become friends and this friendship will be continued on the negotiations table, he said.

Special Adviser of the UN Secretary General on Cyprus Alexander Downer described tonights dinner as not an evening of negotiations but an evening of confidence building.

In statements after the dinner, Downer expressed on behalf of the UN his appreciation for the hospitality offered at Eroglus residence.

My wife and I have enjoyed the evening, he said.

Its been a wonderful evening; it has been a fantastic atmosphere there, an excellent atmosphere, a most enjoyful evening, he added.

Not an evening of negotiations but an evening of confidence building, an evening where increasingly friends are getting together and building those personal relationships, he stressed.

I think that all Cypriots whether there are Turkish Cypriots or Greek Cypriots should take some heart from the positive atmosphere it was here this evening, and to remind that in Cyprus you have a tragic past but you have an encouraging future, he concluded.

Both leaders were accompanied by their spouses.

Present at the dinner were also the advisers of the community leaders with their spouses.

This was the second social encounter between the two community leaders, since Eroglu replaced Mehmet Ali Talat in April, as the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community. President Demetris Christofias and the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community attended a dinner, hosted by the UN, at a local restaurant, in the UN controlled buffer zone in May 25.

[02] UAE - CYPRUS ISSUE

Speaking after a meeting in Nicosia with Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcos Kyprianou and talks between their delegations, Sheikh Abdullah expressed gratitude for Cyprus` efforts to build bridges between the rest of the world and the Palestinians living in Gaza, and said the UAE was keen to explore further opportunities to strengthen ties with Cyprus, in areas such as tourism, renewable energy and port management.

Before the talks of their delegations, the two Ministers signed an agreement on the Mutual Exemption of Entry Visas for Holders of Diplomatic, Special and Service Passports, as well as a Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Political Consultations between the two Ministries.

Kyprianou described relations between Cyprus and the UAE as ``excellent`` and noted that ``Cyprus has recently opened up an Embassy in Abu Dhabi and we are looking forward to having a presence of the UAE in Cyprus as well.``

[03] CYPRUS - FISCAL DEFICIT

During the first six months of the year, the fiscal deficit dropped to 335.22 million euros or 1.94% of the GDP, from 417.71 euros or 2.46 of the GDP in the first six months of 2009.

According to the Ministry, revenue has increased in the first half of 2010 by 188.44 million euros or by 6.91% and reached 2.91 billion euros, from 2.72 billion in the same period last year.

The rise in revenue has contributed to a significant increase, by 46.26%, of the non tax revenue, which reached 446,099 million euros, compared to 305,000 million euros in the first half of 2009.

[04] RUSSIA - TOURISM

The upward trend in tourist arrivals to Cyprus is confirmed by the data regarding June, which show an increase of 53% compared with June 2009, thus uplifting Russian contribution to Cyprus tourism to 9.7%. The islands bigger tourism market remains Great Britain with 46.6% of total arrivals.

ATOP considers that the total of 86.000 Russian tourist that visited Cyprus constitutes an indication of the upward trend, since the increase reaches 28% compared with 2008, which is one of the best years for tourist exchange between Russia and Cyprus.

The demand of Russian tourist for holidays in Cyprus will increase approximately by 60% and this will be a new record, a tourist companys manager projects.

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