The members of the Cyprus Association of Large Investment Projects are promoting 18 to 20 projects, the total value of which exceeds €8 billion and which are expected to employ more than 8 to 9 thousand staff, said the Association President, Andreas Demetriades, following a meeting of the Association’s Board of Directors with President, Nikos Christodoulides, on Thursday morning at the Presidential Palace, in the presence of Interior Minister, Konstantinos Ioannou, and Deputy Minister to the President, Irene Piki.

Demetriades said that these projects concern marinas, golf courses, technology parks, large tourist complexes, hotels, medical centres, etc.

He added that the association members agree with the President’s thoughts on providing incentives to encourage the partnership of foreign companies with Cypriot ones and noted that they will help in all directions to “clear” the name of Cyprus and improve the country’s image to investors.

According to Demetriades, during the almost two-hour meeting, various issues concerning the members of the association and the economy in general were discussed, such as improving the image and prestige of Cyprus abroad.

He also noted that there was a convergence of views between the President of the Republic and the association that everyone should make every effort to eliminate the spots of the past for an economy that will be able to attract foreign investment.

He added that they also discussed issues of tax and urban planning reform and specific issues of the sector, describing the meeting as very productive, with the President of the Republic showing, he said, a particular interest in the problems faced by the members of the association and the ways in which foreign investment can be attracted and the implementation of major projects in Cyprus can be promoted.

“At the moment, the members of the association are promoting 18 to 20 projects, the total value of which exceeds €8 billion and which are expected to employ over 8 to 9 thousand people,” Demetriades noted, adding that the contribution of the Large Investment Projects Association to the country’s economy is very important.

Asked about the main pending projects, as well as President Christodoulides’ suggestions for attracting foreign investors to join major projects, Demetriades replied that some of the President’s thoughts, which he said the association fully endorses, are to provide such incentives to encourage the partnership of foreign companies with Cypriot ones, so that the latter can acquire the necessary experience and know-how in specific sectors, but also for Cypriot businessmen to benefit from this cooperation.

Asked whether he agrees with the Government’s actions to restore the country’s prestige abroad, the President of the Association said that its members fully agree and have committed themselves to the President of the Republic that they will help in all directions to “clear” the name of Cyprus and improve the country’s image to investors.

“It is in the interest of everyone, including the businessmen themselves, to have a good image, which attracts real productive investments in Cyprus,” he stressed.

Asked about the progress of the Larnaca port and marina projects, Demetriades said that the company involved is not a member of the association, although it has expressed, as he said, an interest in registering, and therefore has no knowledge of any specific problems that exist.

Asked about other problems faced by the association, he referred to the unfair competition that Cypriot companies face in terms of taxation against companies that have operations abroad but also operate domestically, adding that these issues are expected to be resolved in the context of the tax reform.

He added that among the issues raised by the association were specific ways of attracting investment and the delays observed in urban planning issues, such as the approval of revised local plans and the finalisation of the policy statement.

Asked whether the association was concerned about construction activity in the Turkish occupied territories, Demetriades said that this issue was not addressed at the meeting. He noted, however, in his capacity as Vice President of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, that it is an issue that concerns and affects several of its members, adding that although they wish to maintain commercial and business communication with the occupied territories, they do not wish to create conditions of unfair competition against businesses in the territories under the government’s control.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.