One of the biggest challenges facing the most crucial sectors of our economy, such as tourism, construction and administration, is managing their downsizing due to the deletion, literally, overnight of some of their key markets. . Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the reaction of the EU and the West have created a huge challenge for these sectors, with companies, cooperatives and projects even threatened with closure. This, after all, risks occurring when there is dependence on a single category of customers and countries and when colossi of sand are built, literally and figuratively.
And if there is one single lesson that we must all not forget from this story, it is precisely this: Cyprus must turn to Central Europe and elsewhere in the Western world and establish quality relationships and collaborations with the markets there. For example, some countries in our region may seem promising and capable of filling the gap of our oligarchs and other controversial customers, but it would at least be foolish to replace our dependence on one or two markets with a couple of other markets. only. Of course we want and need to establish further relations with Israel, as well as with Egypt and Jordan and Lebanon, Iraq, the Gulf states, but we must not forget the political and economic liquidity that, unfortunately, characterizes the neighborhood. us.
In other words, it is not wise to replace the one-hole basket we kept and put all our eggs in with just one, also prone to holes, basket, characterized not by the same quality weaknesses of course, but by others, equally existing dangers capable of bringing us back suddenly and abruptly to existential challenges.
Cyprus must seek to establish methodically relations with the main economic centers of Central and Western Europe and to utilize its European identity and status, its highly trained human resources, any of its advantages as a tourist destination and to avoid creating further Uncompetitive conditions in the real estate market due to opportunistic attitudes, as it has done in the past, to become a destination of choice, not only for our close neighbors, but also for the Europeans and their closest allies and partners, who are also ours. This relationship is important and goes far beyond any economic benefit and in the coming years the need for our real choice and commitment to one of the emerging poles of the reorganizing international system will become increasingly clear. Like it or not…
But even if we look at it strictly utilitarian, we will find that going to these important cities and markets in Europe will create an opportunity to sufficiently diversify our clientele, to attract more, more durable and better investments and gradually to stop being the “outsiders” who accidentally entered “inside” to open a “back door” to the even more “outsiders”. And if we do this with consistency, credibility and seriousness, we will become even more attractive among the progressive elements of our neighborhood, which already see and utilize, with mutual benefit, our status as an EU Member State and as a Western country. If we do not do this, the benefit will be half and the risk of a recurrence is double…
