Projects in Municipalities and Communities of the free province of Famagusta, worth several million euros, announced on Thursday evening the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulidis, adding that the doors of his office and those of the Government Ministers are open to listen and do whatever what is possible to achieve the development of the area.
In his greeting at a provincial gathering held at the Ayia Napa marina, for the proposed development program of the Famagusta province for the period 2024-2029, the President stated that “the work of the Government is based on the work of consultation with civil society. But the governance program is constantly updated to reflect the emerging needs of citizens, businesses, since we are constantly living in a changing socio-economic environment and it affects us all”.
He added that “our goal is to improve the lives of the residents of the region and help to fully exploit the comparative advantages that the region has.” It is a fact, he emphasized, “that the free province of Famagusta is an unjust province in terms of the support it has received from the state, especially if we compare it to the rest of the provinces of the rest of Cyprus”.
He stated that “despite the fact that after the Turkish invasion of 1974, 85% of the province of Famagusta remains under occupation, the province not only survived but developed to such an extent that it contributes substantially to the economy of the country and the tourism product of Cyprus, offering a share more than 30% of tourist arrivals in our country”.
As a minimal sample of the recognition of this offer, the President continued “as a Government, we aim to ensure the provision of substantial support to the province, the residents and of course in the business community”.
After stating that “taking into account’ considering the current environment and the dependence of our country, we are a small country, an open economy that is greatly influenced by external factors” he noted that “we must constantly face the international, regional and by extension domestic challenges that arise. At the same time, we are called upon to adopt actions that strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of our economy, preserving the social fabric of our country”.
Afterwards, President Christodoulidis pointed out that “it is not easy to face this challenge, it requires a clear plan, a clear planning as well as fiscal responsibility but also determination and readiness for continuous and bold reforms”.
In his greeting, the President of the Republic referred to the support measures for households and businesses, amounting to around 200 million euros, announced on Thursday, and said that the measures “which have been in place for months, constitute an important targeted intervention by the government towards to create a net of social welfare and solidarity, especially towards those of our fellow citizens who face multiple problems. In addition to the immediate support measures, the Government's medium-term interventions offer permanent and sustainable solutions for a drastic reduction in energy costs, on the one hand, which concerns us all, but for us it is a bet on affordable housing, which particularly affects the new generation in our place, is the sub’ number one concern of young people in our country”.
In addition, he emphasized that “we have the determination, the appetite and we work away from populism and wishful thinking with an open mind, away from approaches that may sound good to the ears, but are simple promises, so that we achieve development and prosperity for the whole of our country”.
President Christodoulidis also referred to “the recent double upgrade of the Cypriot economy and the return of our country's credit rating to investment grade, after 12 whole years, thanks to the continuous economic policy that was followed and we continue to follow. Our goal now, and this is what we must achieve, is to turn this important development, which is due first and foremost to the Cypriot people, into prospects and opportunities for new private investments and, by extension, good jobs”.
At the same time, he continued, “our main priority is the targeted support of vulnerable groups, the strengthening of the middle class, which throughout time has been the backbone of the Cypriot economy, Cypriot society. He indicated that “the success of Cyprus in all the previous years, is due to the fact that there was a strong middle class, which has now faced serious challenges and is shrinking, and of course the strengthening of our business activity”.
As the KYPE reports, our main priorities and principles, the President underlined, “are clearly visible and can also be seen through the surplus budget that we submitted a few days ago. We are emphasizing the real economy through development spending, which is up 15% compared to 2023, which is intended to improve competitiveness, improve productivity as well as employee benefits as a whole, while creating quality jobs”.
Indicatively, the President of the Republic stated that “capital expenditures in relation to the 2023 budget have increased by 135 million euros and the approval of the budget by the Parliament will mark the start of the implementation of our strategic orientation for the next five years, based on very ambitious but realistic priorities, which will guide all our actions until 2028 always in line with the long-term strategy”. He added that “the vision 2035, drawn up by the previous government, we are putting into practice”, noting that “when it comes to the economy, the development model of a country cannot be affected by electoral cycles, you cannot change the development model of a country country every five years when you have elections”.
Addressing those present, President Christodoulidis said that “on the basis of the budget and the governance program, among many important projects, they are expected to be implemented in the free province of Famagusta , always with your own cooperation and your own contribution”.
He also reiterated that for him “it is a priority that the concern of the Government and for a country to move forward is the well-being of all citizens without exception. At the same time, state support should not be interpreted exclusively through the financing of infrastructure projects,” he said.
In fact, he continued, “cooperation between local authorities and the Executive Power extends to many other areas. Equally important should be considered the structural reforms and policies to promote sustainable development that simplify procedures and strengthen the competitiveness of our country with a positive impact for all citizens, as well as the attraction of investments with all the positive effects of such a development”.< /p>
As the KYPE reports, he also noted that the measures announced on Thursday “also affect the free province of Famagusta, they will help to deal with many challenges and problems but will also give impetus to development”.
