US lauds Cyprus economic progress

By Andrew Adamides

THIS YEAR’S American pavilion is the country’s largest ever at the State Fair, as befitting America’s status as 1997’s number one exporter to the island.

Speaking at the press launch of the 1998 pavilion yesterday, US Ambassador Kenneth Brill said the fair was both “an excellent opportunity to showcase” American products in Cyprus and to talk about trade ties between the two countries. Last year, he said, the American share of Cyprus’ total imports rose to 19 per cent, from 17.8 in 1996, the third year in which the figure has risen.

The US pavilion itself has grown in size by 15 per cent this year, and the extra space is being filled by several exciting new exhibitors.

Among the new exhibits are Jeep and Ford Explorer luxury four-wheel-drive vehicles, LA-Z-BOY reclining chairs and Walt Disney Products, as well as voice recognition systems and hand-held air conditioners. Among those companies returning to the fair are Black and Decker, General Electric, Goodyear, Harley Davidson motorcycles, Timberland and Timex.

Also on show at the pavilion are the on-line facilities of CyABA, the Cyprus-American Business Association, dedicated to forging contacts between the two countries in the business world. Facilities, which are open to Cypriot business-owners, include a bulletin board and a commercial newsgroup.

On the subject of Cyprus’ EU accession process, Brill said America’s “sincere wish” was that accession would ultimately benefit all Cypriots, and added that the need to harmonise with EU legislation had put the island on the path to economic liberalisation.

However, he added that there was “broad agreement” in the business community that “still more changes are needed to give Cyprus the necessary tools to deal successfully with the challenges of the future.”

In addition, Brill also mentioned Cyprus’ efforts on money laundering, noting the recent State Department report which recognised the government’s activity in combatting the crime. This, he said, bore testimony to Cyprus’ “commitment in this area”.

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.