The realization of the Workshop organized in Nicosia by the Ministry of Energy with the participation of the hydrocarbon companies active in the region, is an indication of how high on the Government's priorities is the utilization of natural gas, said today the President of the Republic, Mr. Nikos Christodoulidis.< /strong>
In his statements to the journalists, after his greeting at the start of the Workshop's work, and when asked what Cyprus is aiming for by holding the Workshop, the President of the Republic, President Christodoulidis said that "it is an indication of how high in priorities us is the utilization of natural gas. Two and a half months after assuming our duties as a new Government, we are presenting a clear orientation.
There are three basic facts. The first concerns the high prices of electricity in the domestic market, the second concerns the EU's effort to wean itself off Russian natural gas and the third concerns the prospects of the Eastern Mediterranean in combination with the excellent relations that the Republic of Cyprus has with its neighboring states.
Our strategy aims to bring all these three data together with the primary target of course the domestic market, we are accountable we have an obligation towards the citizens of the Republic of Cyprus, and at the same time to take advantage of the opportunity that exists moment at the European level to strengthen the EU's effort to wean itself off Russian natural gas.
So, let's bring these two together by taking advantage of the perspectives of the Eastern Mediterranean and the excellent relations with the neighboring states.
Asked about the comparative advantages of Cyprus, the President of the Republic said that "the Republic of Cyprus is a member state of the EU and today the Workshop is precisely to present the added value of the exploitation of the Cyprus Democracy.
The solution of the Republic of Cyprus does not negate the other options. We have excellent relations with the neighboring states, we have spoken and will speak and then the experts about the need to create synergies that at the end of the day will be to the benefit of all the states of the region and the EU itself.
Asked how the plan presented last Friday by the Chevron company is in line with our wishes, the President of the Republic said that "this is what we are discussing. It is important that there is a development plan, finally, you realize how important it is for us to have a development plan, a first contact has already been made, Chevron is expecting us and will be given our feedback immediately in her own proposal and all this is within the framework of the Workshop today.
There are companies here that are active in our region, companies that believe in the perspective of the Eastern Mediterranean and exactly all this is being done to announce the final decisions. We have the plan, the planning, the consultations have progressed to a significant extent and our goal is first the internal market, to respond to what the Cypriot citizens expect from us, and at the same time to take advantage of the international circumstances.
When asked if the Cypriot Government is in constant coordination with the Government of Israel, the President of the Republic said that "we are discussing with all Governments. Let me remind you that I had visited Egypt and Israel accompanied by the Minister of Energy, who will go to Israel in the next few days and, yes, we are in coordination with the neighboring Governments, we have excellent resources and we are discussing this plan of ours.
Asked to refer to the elections in Turkey, the President of the Republic said that "I think it is an important milestone that has been completed with the election of Mr. Erdogan. I want to take today's opportunity to congratulate him on his re-election and to emphasize once again our readiness to resume the talks where they left off in Crans Montana. You realize that after the completion of the electoral process, our effort enters a second stage, because it was a milestone and we hope that there will be developments soon.
When asked if the reports of the US Ambassador in her interview satisfied Nicosia, the President of the Republic said “I welcome the statements of the American Ambassador on all issues.” I find her reports on all issues to be important and in line with our approach. Both on the issue of sanctions and the reaction of the Republic of Cyprus, but also regarding the future of our bilateral relations which have developed in recent years to a very significant extent, in the field of defense, security, political relations, consultations, and the plan for us, we have already started its implementation, is to have these kinds of developments, and for the Cypriot society to understand this new level of relations between the Republic of Cyprus and the USA.
I will give two examples. We have already, after the first contact we had with the US Ambassador, received the road map in relation to the issue of not needing an entry visa for Cypriot citizens who choose to travel to the US, I have appointed a coordinator, because you realize that many Ministries are involved, who is now working together with the Ministries and the American Authorities, to move forward.
Another area in which we coordinate with the US Government is the attraction of American investments in Cyprus, we work in coordination, so that we manage to soon have some trade missions from the US side which missions see the added value of investing in Cyprus, and not only in Cyprus, but more broadly in the region».
Finally, to the question of whether there is a timetable for completion of the visa waver discussions, the President of the Republic answered in the affirmative.
