A strategic plan with the Government’s objectives for attracting foreign investment in Cyprus will be announced in the coming weeks, Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry, George Papanastasiou, said on Thursday. He was speaking during an open consultation launched by the Ministry of Energy on a strategy to enhance the competitiveness and internationalization of the Cypriot industry.

The Minister of Energy said that, within the framework of the strategic plan, an organization will be created to include the competent bodies that will deal with applications for investments through fast-track procedures.

Referring to the Policy Document for the competitiveness and internationalization of the Cypriot industry 2025-2030, which was prepared by the Ministry of Energy, Papanastasiou noted that the objective of this Document “is precisely the adoption by the State and those directly involved of an integrated strategic approach to strengthen industrial production and the competitiveness of domestic businesses in international markets.” In this context, as he said, “taking into account all the data, as well as the challenges facing the sector, we considered it more appropriate to emphasize, on the one hand, the strengthening and development of domestic production of products and, on the other hand, the internationalization of the Cypriot industry and the extroversion of Cypriot businesses.”

Speaking about the strategic directions mentioned in the Document, the Minister of Energy explained that they are based on several suggestions of the bodies and members of the commercial and industrial community of Cyprus, submitted during the continuous dialogue carried out by the Government to strengthen the country's business ecosystem.

At the same time, George Papanastasiou stressed that "these strategic directions are fully consistent with the European Industrial Strategy, which now has as a priority the adoption of the recommendations of the Draghi Report on the future of Europe's competitiveness, with the main recommendation being the interconnection of trade policy with industrial policy."

Addressing the bodies and members of the commercial and industrial community, he requested their contribution for completing the Policy Document and preparing the new Action Plan of the Ministry of Energy, by submitting suggestions for specific actions that they believe are necessary and will contribute to the further support of Cypriot industrial products and, by extension, to the sustainable development of the Cypriot economy.

The Minister of Energy further noted that when the preparation of the Action Plan is completed - for which, as he said, the Ministry’s goal is to have it ready by the end of February - the actions will be prioritized. The Action Plan will then be submitted, together with the Policy Document, to the Council of Ministers for approval, he added.

Papanastasiou also said that a strategic plan with the Government’s objectives for attracting foreign investment in Cyprus will be announced in the coming weeks, noting that, within the context of the strategic plan, an organization will be created to include the competent bodies that will deal with applications for investments through fast-track procedures.

At the same time, he pointed out the need to undertake targeted actions and diversify products that will be placed under the "Cyprus made" brand, within the context of rebranding, in order to “defeat the competition.” Cypriot trade missions abroad will now be targeted, he pointed out.

Papanastasiou noted that there is a weakness in issuing permits, emphasizing that “we will fix the bottlenecks.” He added that Cyprus’ weaknesses are expensive energy and high labour costs, noting that “if we fix these weaknesses, we will become more competitive”. Cyprus’ strengths, he said, are that it has many English-speaking people, many scientists and common law. 

During the presentation of the Policy Document for the competitiveness and internationalization of Cypriot industry 2025-2030, it was said that the vision of the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry is the creation of a modern, competitive, flexible and resilient industrial sector with an international orientation, through the interconnection of industrial production policies with the internationalization strategies of businesses. The vision of the Ministry consists of 4 pillars, which are targeting strategic sectors, promoting sustainability, strengthening innovation and technology, as well as the development of human resources and their skills.

Furthermore, it was noted that the strengths of the business environment of Cyprus are its strategic geographical location, its EU membership, its attractive tax and business environment, the high educational level of its residents and its strengthened academic and research environment.

The weaknesses of the business environment of Cyprus, participants at the event heard, are the increased cost of energy production and transportation, the import of raw materials, bureaucracy and time-consuming licensing procedures and limited interconnection.

In addition, a presentation was held on the main sectors of the Cypriot manufacturing industry, the sectors and products with growth prospects, the relationship between foreign trade and industry, exports of industrial products, and the actions of the Ministry of Energy to support export activity.

At the same time, the 6 strategic directions of the Ministry of Energy were also presented, including the business environment and increasing competitiveness, green transition, digital transition, human resources and their skills, enhancing access to financing, as well as the preparation of a strategy for the internationalization of Cypriot industry.