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Continuing the very important work done for the development of our mountainous areas, conservation, population growth and economic activity, such projects are of particular importance.
The "Glaucos Clerides" gem in Agros has been included in the budgets to operate, and many other projects that will help to really upgrade the region.
I visited the Troodos Hospital earlier. And there was some important work done there, the new facility was inaugurated during the administration. We are working so that by the end of June, the pulmonary unit will be fully operational and we will also start work on the old building, the main hospital building.
The project that we are inaugurating tonight and its results demonstrate in practice the power of cooperation, of joint effort, since it was financed with €1.7 million.
We must make the most of the project, because the most important thing is that it is used not only for tourism purposes, but also for our schools and for the entire Cypriot people.
As the Government, we will continue to support the Observatory, always in consultation with the community. Already, we decided last month to provide technical support for the commissioning of the full operation of the Observatory. Our aim is to have a contractor elected by September who will take over the whole management and promote it as a major attraction for the area.
The Observatory, I am sure, will add significant value to the tourism product offered in the Troodos area and will attract new visitors to the area, both local and foreign, who wish to explore the fascinating field of astronomy and space.
The Observatory, I am sure, will add significant value to the tourism product offered in the Troodos area and will attract new visitors to the area, both local and foreign, who wish to explore the fascinating field of astronomy and space.
At the same time, by becoming a point of reference for astronomers, observers, scholars, researchers and astronomy enthusiasts in general, the sector of astronautics is significantly enhanced, a new field for our country, whose fans are characterized by a high level of education, culture and environmental awareness.
Astrotourism, as a special form of tourism, has been attracting great interest internationally in recent years, as destinations linked to stargazing attract more and more visitors. In this context, I am particularly optimistic about the positive impact that the Observatory will have on the development of the entire region and its ability to complement a series of governmental interventions aimed at formulating an updated tourism policy for the Troodos mountain product, within the framework of both the National Strategy for the Development of Troodos Mountain Communities and the National Tourism Strategy.
Let me also mention that astrotourism and astro-observation are an aspect of rural tourism, especially in mountain areas, which are known to develop far from large and fully developed tourist centres. It is an activity which, together with other sports and recreational activities such as hiking, cycling, mountaineering and many others, make up a unique experience of authentic Cyprus, beyond what our country is known for today.
In addition to the above, the creation of the Troodos Observatory is also fully in line with the objectives of both the National Space Strategy 2022-2027 and the Research and Innovation Strategy approved by the Council of Ministers in December 2023.
The space sector is an emerging priority for Cyprus in the fields of research and technology. Our country has already developed satellite communications and satellite navigation infrastructure through private initiatives. Here, the private sector has pushed the state and the government to support, and such activities help, through our networking with the scientific community, to open up new horizons and perspectives and lay the foundations for knowledge transfer, but also for important transnational and international collaborations.
At the same time, and here we touch on Education, we should encourage young children, our schools. We should encourage through education our young people to get involved in the subject, since our country and the Eastern Mediterranean in general, as I have been informed, has a significant comparative advantage in the research field at the international level, because of the large number of days we have with clear skies that allow, for example, the operation of the telescope on many days and for many hours.
We are here today, first and foremost, to honour the community, to congratulate the previous Government and the former President of the Republic who over the years, all the years I have been by his side, has shown a special interest in the region, taking into account his ancestry - and nobody forgets his ancestry because if you forget your ancestry you cannot know where you are going - and in general I congratulate all those who have collaborated on this great project.
(PM/MS/EATH)
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