DUBAI, Apr 19 (Gulf News): Nicos Anastasiades, president of the Republic of Cyprus, said that business relations between UAE and Cyprus are based on solid foundations and called for a boost to economic ties between the two countries.
During his visit to the UAE last week, the president spoke at the UAE-Cyprus Business Forum on Wednesday, an event hosted by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry in partnership with the Cyprus Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism and the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Cyprus has enormous opportunities for investments in the energy sector, Anastasiades said. There are plenty of openings for investments in real estate, health and rehabilitation centres, shipping, technology, innovation and in large tourist investment projects such as marinas, golf courses, thematic parks and other tourist developments.
The recent discovery of natural gas in Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone opens up new opportunities for investments as well, the president said.
The UAE and Cyprus also have a treaty in place to avoid double taxation, he added.
According to the Dubai Chamber, Dubai's total non-oil trade with the Cyprus increased by 35 per cent at a value of Dh100 million between 2011 and 2012.
Anastasiades said that Cyprus was succeeding in easing investment procedures. The country is currently implementing a series of measures aimed at reducing bureaucracy and making it easier to do business by overhauling the procedure for permits and licensing projects. The President said that the country is praised by the European Union as a model for economic recovery.
In 2012, Cyprus was hit by the Eurozone financial crisis, causing the government to seek €1.8 billion (Dh9.1 billion) of foreign aid. On 25 March 2013, following a €10 billion international bailout, the government agreed split the country's second largest bank, the Cyprus Popular Bank, imposing a significant haircut on uninsured deposits, a large proportion of which were held by wealthy Russians who used Cyprus as a tax haven.
