Mr. von Schoepff said one of his major objectives was to promote economic cooperation between Cyprus and Germany. To that end, the Embassy is going ahead with the organization of acquaintance and networking under the title German Business Days, starting from Limassol on May 29. The Ambassador said that Cyprus is an important hub in the region and should make optimum use of that capacity. The Embassy is developing initiatives through the Cyprus-German Business Association (a member of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce & Industry) and is aiming at clearly targeted rather than general actions. To achieve that objective, the idea is for separate groups dealing with separate subject matters, such as tourism, shipping and shipmanagement, renewable energy, logistics.
Mr. Galatariotis thanked Mr. von Schoepff for his visit to the LCCI, pointing out that although Germany predictably enjoyed a substantial surplus in its trade with Cyprus, there are significant prospects for cooperation, inter alia, in the fields of tourism and shipping. He also referred to the upcoming privatization of the management of Limassol Port, which could be of interest to German establishments, as well as to the initiatives developed by the Chamber in the all-important field of research and innovation, also in conjunction with the Pentakomo Techno Park.
Referring to Cyprus’ current economic situation and future prospects, the LCCI President noted that Cyprus had been treated harshly by its European Union partners. Cyprus did have its share of serious economic problems, and remedial action was certainly required, but a deposit haircut was unheard of in the European Union. Since the events of 2013, there has been a restructuring and recapitalization of the banks, all banking restrictions have been lifted and although there are still difficulties confronting the Cyprus economy, it is clear that Cyprus can indeed go past the crisis and look forward to better days ahead.
