Window of opportunity for business ties with Israel

CYPRUS’ EU accession and improved opportunities for a Middle East peace "will pave the way for enhancing commercial ties in the region," Israeli Ambassador Shemi Tzur told a conference of Israeli and Cypriot businessmen this week.

New peace moves in Israel-Arab relations are "already changing the political situation in the region, and creating a window of opportunity for renewed economic relations between Israel and its neighbours," he said.

In this light, Cyprus takes on extra importance, Tzur said, as it moves towards membership in the European Union, as "new business opportunities will open up for Cyprus."

"This will make Cyprus all the more attractive for Israelis and create greater possibilities for joint-ventures," Tzur said, at the two-day Israeli Business Forum at Nicosia’s Hilton Hotel.

With Cyprus in the European Union, Tzur noted, it will bring Europe "as close as a 40-minute flight from Israel, with all the benefits that will come with it."

The ambassador said Cyprus-Israel trade has been upgraded over the past few years, and assured this guests that Israel placed a high priority in enhancing its commercial ties with the island.

"We are confident that the potential is great and, more importantly, that there is mutual interest for the advancement of business ties," he said.

The Israeli delegation to the trade conference was headed by the director of the Manufacturers Association of Israel, Yore Blizovsky; the Director-general of the Israel Export Institute, Amir Hyek; and the Deputy Director-general of the Israel Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Commerce Minister Nicos Rolandis, Finance Minister Takis Klerides and Central Bank Governor Afxentis Afxentiou addressed the bilateral gathering of businessmen in search of joint-venture opportunities, especially high-technology fields.

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.