The government plans to “preserve and further develop” Cyprus’ role in international shipping, through measures and incentives, as the sector that accounts for about of 7% of national output awaits to get its first dedicated Under-Secretary for Shipping.
“Shipping is a great asset for our country, a sector for which we have an international voice and for which we can claim that we are among the best in the world. It is, therefore, our duty and responsibility to preserve and further develop our role in the international shipping arena and to provide adequate conditions for a sustainable growth of our shipping industry”, Transport Minister Marios Demetriades said in his speech at the “Best Invest” International Investment Conference.
With work and the implementation of proactive actions and measures, the maritime sector of Cyprus will continue to grow and develop under the new image of a quality-oriented and competitive registry and shipping centre, he said.
The government’s efforts, Demetriades said, concentrate on enhancing Cyprus’ maritime cluster with new maritime services and activities.
“We are very glad to see that our efforts have materialised and in the past few months we welcomed the establishment of marine academies in Cyprus, new ship insurance companies and the entry of two Cyprus banks into the ship finance market”, he said.
The minister said he expects that the development of the maritime cluster will continue and further increase in the following years. He added that Cyprus could also benefit from Brexit, to attract companies that are forced to or decide to leave Britain, in order to retain their EU ‘citizenship’.
He also noted that Cyprus has the potential to develop into an important energy centre in the Mediterranean and that these new developments are very promising and widen the horizons of the shipping industry, creating relevant synergies.
Another encouraging component, he added, is the prospect of the lifting of the Turkish embargo on Cyprus shipping through a viable solution to the Cyprus problem. He said this will lead to great growth of the Cyprus shipping industry and Cyprus could become a leading transit centre in the eastern Mediterranean and one of the European Union’s main sea transport and logistics hubs.
