The Government stands committed to working together with global trade partners, as well as global enterprises, to build a future where talent, innovation, and technology converge, positioning Cyprus as a key gateway for transformative digital solutions across Europe and the wider region, said on Wednesday the Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Nicodemos Damianou, in his speech at the launch ceremony of the LTIMindtree AI and Digital Center at the CYENS Center of Excellence in Nicosia.
According to the Deputy Minister, the establishment of the LTIMindtree AI and Digital Center “marks not only the launch of a cutting-edge technological facility, but also a significant milestone in Cyprus’ journey to becoming a regional technology and innovation hub, where AI, a transformative technology that is unleashing successive waves of disruption across industries, is central to this vision”.
He added that with its focus on Agentic AI and advanced digital systems, this Center will help financial institutions across Europe unlock new capabilities in intelligent automation, risk management, and customer experience. “These are not just improvements in process—they are fundamental shifts in how we think, how we decide, and how we interact with the digital world, in the context of financial services nonetheless”, he noted.
This is an initiative that signals Cyprus’ focus on advanced technologies, and also reflects the strength and the potential of our partnerships with leading global technology players and thriving ecosystems like India’s, continued Damianou.
He added that Cyprus and India economic and business relations have flourished over time, with Cyprus ranking among the top 10 sources of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India, primarily in sectors such as financial services and information technology. Bilateral trade has also increased steadily, while the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation between Invest Cyprus and Invest India has created a significant platform to facilitate increased investment activities and support business cooperation between Indian and Cypriot companies, he added.
Furthermore, he said that the establishment of the India-Greece-Cyprus Business and Investment Council marks another significant step forward in further strengthening Cyprus–India relations, opening new avenues for trade, investment, and strategic, long-term collaboration between the two countries, in the wider regional context.
“Our Government stands committed to working together with India and other global trade partners, as well as Global enterprises, to build a future where talent, innovation, and technology converge—positioning Cyprus as a key gateway for transformative digital solutions across Europe and the wider region. Over the past few years, our Government has taken bold steps to position Cyprus as a bridge between East and West, capitalizing on our elevated geopolitical role and our geostrategic location, which trigger unique cross border opportunities for tech collaborations. We have built a healthy, strong, resilient economy, recording one of the highest growth rates in the EU, which led to an upgrade by international rating agencies to investment grade A, after 13 years. A diversified economy with a booming ICT sector, now ranking 4th in Europe in ICT sector development and contributing close to 14% to the country’s GDP, with a growing community of successful technology and innovation companies that generate significant AI activity”, he stressed.
“This growth is testament to our focus on policy interventions that make it easy for technology companies and innovative startups to establish their presence on the island, grow and engage with the local ecosystem as well as access the global markets through Cyprus. To build on this momentum, President Christodoulides recently announced the launch of the Business Activity Service Centre, set to launch on 26 May — a dedicated hub providing investors with direct access to information and tailored support for establishing or expanding their operations in Cyprus”, he added in that regard.
He further mentioned that the Government has introduced simplified processes for the employment of third-country nationals, as well as talent mobility schemes including the digital nomad visa and the Blue Card for highly qualified personnel, which will go live by the end of this month, offering at the same time, important incentives for highly-skilled foreign nationals to relocate to Cyprus, while noting that the number of ICT specialists in Cyprus has nearly doubled over the past decade, reaching more than 30,000, with Cyprus recording the highest growth in Europe between 2023-2024, in terms of the percentage of ICT specialists in the workforce.
“Building a strong digital economy also requires modernizing the public sector and accelerating digital transformation across the industry. Our focus is on streamlining and digitizing public services to make every interaction with the government simpler, faster, and more efficient. At the same time, we are advancing foundational digital infrastructure to better enable the digital economy – notable examples: the national eID and eSignature schemes launched last January, as well as the rollout of mandatory e-Invoicing when interacting with the government. These are powerful enablers, particularly for the financial services sector, driving new efficiencies, new possibilities, and trust in digital transactions. The results are evident on the latest EU Digital Intensity Index where Cyprus has achieved an substantial jump to the 7th place amongst EU member states, in terms of how well the businesses are deploying digital technologies”, he added.
Referring again to the establishment of the Centre, Damianou said it aligns well with a much broader and holistic national effort to position Cyprus at the forefront of responsible and impactful AI development. He added that to that end, the Government has established a National AI Taskforce – chaired by the Chief Scientist – to coordinate and guide this transformation, and will soon launch a competitive call to engage with the private sector in using AI to develop innovative solutions for addressing challenges of the wider public sector. He also said that joining one of Europe’s first 6 AI Factories, the Greece-led Pharos, is also an important development that will enable the ecosystem with tools, compute and expert services for further engaging in AI activities and solutions.
Concluding, the Deputy Minister said that in this wider context, the LTIMindtree AI and Digital Center represents a practical, high-impact initiative that demonstrates how policy, innovation, and international collaboration can work together to deliver real results.
“I am confident that it will serve as a model for future endeavors between our countries, our industries, and our people. Many thanks again in particular to Fairfax digital services and LTIMindtree for choosing Cyprus for this initiative”, he added, while recognizing the role of CYENS, “which continues to prove its value as a beacon of interdisciplinary research and innovation with particular focus on the use of advanced technologies.”
“Cyprus is ready to host the technologies of the future, ready to cultivate talent, ready to be a bridge—between East and West, between research and industry, between vision and reality”, he concluded.