Agia Napa Marina Conference Hall
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
It is with mixed feelings that I am here today, at Ayia Napa Marina to welcome the Famagusta Business Conference, co-organized for the first time by the Famagusta and Piraeus Chambers of Commerce and Industry. On the one hand, I feel honoured and delighted to be among the distinguished guests from Cyprus and Greece, business executives and dear friends. On the other hand, I feel real sadness that the Conference is not taking place in our beloved city, the city that gave birth to me and raised me, the sea-kissed Famagusta, which, just a breath away, is silently waiting for the long-awaited liberation from the Turkish conqueror.
This is, as you well know, friends, a ruthless conqueror, who continues to display the same intransigent attitude and a defiantly aggressive behaviour, attempting to impose new deadlines. In complete disregard of UN resolutions, he is blatantly demanding a two-state solution and is taking steps to illegally open the Varosha. Our side is opposing all means at its disposal, making use of international law and Cyprus' position in the European Union and the United Nations. The President of the Republic is ready to engage in an honest and sincere dialogue, far from unreasonable demands for recognition of two states, for a just, workable and viable solution. With regard to the city of Famagusta, the natural seat of the Famagusta Chamber of Commerce, President Anastasiades and the Government continue their intensive efforts for its return to its legitimate inhabitants, on the basis of UN Security Council Resolutions 550 and 789.
In parallel with the developments and the continuous efforts made on our national problem, our country has faced three successive crises in recent years. The great economic crisis that took over the Anastasiades administration in 2013 was followed by the coronavirus pandemic and, just recently, Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Government, seriously and consistently, has managed these crises in the best possible way. In the direction of mitigating the chain effects of the two recent crises, the contribution of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and the ambitious 'Cyprus-Tomorrow' programme drawn up by the Government is expected to be decisive, through which amounts of up to EUR 4 billion will be made available for the further development of the Cypriot economy. The contribution of the business world to the successful implementation of the 'Cyprus-Tomorrow' programme is considered extremely important. It is on these people that the governments of the day rely and with whom they are in sympathy. People like those who in 1927 founded the first form of collective organisation of the commercial world of Cyprus and later, in 1963, the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (known as the CCCI), with the Chambers of Nicosia, Limassol, Famagusta, Larnaca and Paphos as its federal members, to serve commercial and industrial purposes.
The Famagusta Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with its establishment in 1952, was the first organized effort of the business community of Famagusta to create an organization to defend its well-intentioned interests and to promote the economic development of the city and its province. With intense activity, it contributed significantly to the development of trade and industry in Famagusta and the local economy. Despite the painful consequences of the 1974 invasion, the commercial and industrial world of Famagusta, scattered in all parts of free Cyprus, managed to regroup and, with admirable zeal, to reactivate and contribute to the well-known post-war economic miracle. Away from its headquarters, the Famagusta Chamber of Commerce continued its enviable activity. Seventy years later, it continues to officially represent and promote the positions of the business community of Famagusta, actively participating in all the activities of the KEBE. At the same time, it maintains its independence and works to solve the problems of its refugee members. With the aim of developing economic relations with other countries and expanding transactions in the fields of trade, industry and services, as well as fostering cultural relations, the Chamber of Commerce of Famagusta has concluded, since its establishment, protocols of cooperation, twinning and twinning with many Chambers abroad.
In the context of these partnerships, we have the honour today to be present at this economic forum, where officials and representatives of the business communities of Greece and Cyprus will discuss. At the same time, they will analyze the prospects for further development of Cyprus, with particular emphasis on the Famagusta region. This comprehensive and remarkable business conference is co-organized for the first time by the Piraeus and Famagusta Chambers of Commerce and Industry, thus sealing 51 years of excellent relations and cooperation, since the signing of the twinning protocol that took place in 1971 in our occupied city. Although the provisions of the protocol were overturned by the brutal invasion of 1974, the varied support of the Piraeus Chamber, the oldest and one of the largest and most active Chambers in Greece, to the refugee Chamber of Famagusta, was decisive in the years following the invasion. This help and support was reciprocated by the Famagusta Chamber of Commerce in the years that followed. Last November, the two Chambers signed an updated Memorandum of Twinning, on the occasion of 50 years of twinning and in order to jointly address the challenges of the new era.
Dear Presidents and dear members of the Piraeus and Famagusta Chambers of Commerce and Industry,
I congratulate and thank you warmly both for today's initiative and for your general action. I expect that this business conference will become an institution for the business world of Cyprus and Greece. I wish you every success and prosperity in your efforts. Allow me, however, to address specifically the President and members of the Famagusta Chamber of Commerce and Industry, to pay tribute to the State for their commendable action, both their own and that of their predecessors. The whole course of the Chamber has contributed decisively to the work of reconstruction, progress and prosperity of the businessmen of Famagusta province and the economy of the country.
In conclusion, I address all my business friends and convey the sincere gratitude of the Government for their continued support, assistance and determination in realizing our common vision to establish Cyprus as a reliable and competitive business hub.
In conclusion, I address all our business friends and convey the sincere gratitude of the Government for their continued support, assistance and determination in realizing our common vision to establish Cyprus as a reliable and competitive business hub.
Declaring the opening of today's Famagusta Business Conference entitled "Doing Business in the Age of Crises", I wish every success in its proceedings, while expressing the hope and expectation of all of us that the next Conference will be held in our beloved city.
(PM/MG/IC)
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