Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 98-07-10

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From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>

News Update

Friday, 10/07/98

CONTENTS

• [01] President Clerides to visit Moscow
• [02] President Clerides and US Secretary of State Albright exchange letters
• [03] Economic prospects for 1998 brighter, says Central Bank
• [04] Idalion digs yield important Bronze Age sites

[01] President Clerides to visit Moscow

Yesterday Finance Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou also left for Moscow to discuss the renewal of an agreement to avoid double taxation between Cyprus and Russia.

Before his departure, Mr Christodoulou said that the agreement, first signed in 1982 with the former Soviet Union, needed to be modernised .

[02] President Clerides and US Secretary of State Albright exchange letters

"I can confirm Albright's letter and a reply letter by President Clerides, who does not wish at this stage to reveal the contents of the letter," Mr Stylianides said.

The spokesman also said the government considers a proposal for the establishment of a no-fly zone over Cyprus would be a significant step towards the demilitarisation of the island.

Replying to questions, Mr Stylianides said the government is talking to all interested parties with a view to achieving this.

[03] Economic prospects for 1998 brighter, says Central Bank

The report says that the number of tourist arrivals is expected to grow by about 10,0 per cent, compared with 6,7 per cent in 1997 and domestic demand will also recover as both consumption and investment expenditures are expected to pick-up in 1998.

As a result the real Gross Domestic Product growth rate is envisaged to reach about 4,0 per cent in 1998.

Inflation is not expected to exceed 3,0 per cent, compared with 3,6 per cent in 1997, and unemployment will fall to 3,0 per cent from last year's 3, 4 per cent.

However, the Central Bank warns, if no measures are taken, the fiscal deficit will reach about 7,0 per cent of the GDP in 1998, compared with 5,1 per cent the previous year.

[04] Idalion digs yield important Bronze Age sites

The cemetery, consisting of eight tombs dating to the Early Cypro-Geometric period, is the only archaeological site in Cyprus where both the settlement and the cemetery of the transitional period from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age have been found.

Recent digs in the area brought to light storerooms and an area believed to have been the residential quarters for the officials of the Phoenician administration.

Scattered Phoenician inscriptions were also found including the first Cyprosyllabic inscription written in ink on a slab of sandy chalk, bringing the number of inscriptions of the Phoenician archive to 130.

An interesting find is that of a drainage channel built to carry water from the roofs of the rooms of the west wing to a well, or a basin of cement in front of a building housing an olive oil press.

From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/

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