Cyprus and Qatar have signed on Monday three memoranda of understanding and one agreement in the areas of education, energy, desalination and waste treatment and legal affairs.
In statements he made in the afternoon, Government Spokesman Christos Stylianides said that from the meetings the President has had so far it is evident that the visit “was worth it”. At the same time he pointed out that one should not be have extremely high expectations. However, he said, from the meetings it seems that there is interest in investing in Cyprus.
Stylianides continued to say that this is evident from the fact that the Emir of Qatar has given the go ahead for a delegation of the Qatar Investment Authority to visit Cyprus in the coming weeks in order to explore possible investment opportunities.
He noted that the purpose of the visit was to attract investments from a country which invests internationally.
The Government Spokesman expressed the hope that during the meetings the Cyprus President had with both the Investment Authority and the Emir he was able to convey the specific comparative advantages of Cyprus as an investment destination today. Interest was shown in the areas of services, health, fish farming and others, he added.
At the same time he reiterated that despite the fact that there is interest for investing in Cyprus, such potential investments should be evaluated after the fact.
Stylianides further stressed another important dimension of the Presidential visit to Qatar, which is to promote Cyprus and Cypriot business ventures in the region.
There are many companies operating in the region and Qatar, he noted and when their efforts are successful this will be advantageous for Cypriot graduates because it will lead to the creation of new jobs.
Replying to a question he said that there was also interest as regards privatisations. He added that there is nothing specific at the moment as the delegation from Qatar which will visit Cyprus in the coming weeks, will look into all the possibilities for investment.
Asked whether he feels that there was political gain from the visit he said “clearly”. The meetings he said were of the highest level and were conducted in a friendly climate.
Meanwhile sources say that the memoranda of cooperation and the agreement signed earlier on in the day are general in their terminology so that when and if any investments are decided upon they can build on the existing agreements.
The same sources mentioned that interest was shown for the privatisation process in Cyprus and in particular the Electricity Authority of Cyprus, as well as for cooperation in the areas of health and sports. A Real Estate Investment Fund, due to have a meeting with President Anastasiades on Tuesday, seems to also be interested in nine private sector development projects.
Cyprus and Qatar signed three memoranda of understanding and an agreement of cooperation.
The memorandum of understanding on energy regards energy infrastructure and networks, exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons technologies and security and environmental protection from such activities.
The cooperation can be implemented via meetings, the exchange of best practices, information and personnel, planning and managing policies, joint educational initiatives and other activities of mutual interest.
The memorandum of understanding on sea water desalination and waste water treatment and reuse will be implemented through cooperation and the exchange of expertise and knowledge via establishing a joint team between the two countries. This in practice will mean the exchange of experts, specialists and trainees, joint research projects, conferences and other measures of mutual interest.
The memorandum of understanding on education will be based on the exchange of information in recent developments as regards education, student and sports exchanges as well as, inter alia, organising educational exhibitions.
The agreement of cooperation on legal affairs aims to enhance relations between legal advisers through the exchange of information, know how and legislation. The agreement will be implemented via the organisation of educational symposia, encouraging common educational programmes, as well as establishing a joint committee which will focus on specific legal affairs programmes.