Athens, Oct. 18, (dpa/GNA) – Cyprus held an economic forum with business leaders in the port city of Limassol on Friday as the island republic attempts to strengthen its position as a hub for companies from Asia and the Middle East.
“Here, the conditions are unbureaucratic and it is easy to establish oneself,” Timur Turlov of the Kazakh holding company freedom24 told dpa on the sidelines of the 15th Limassol Economic Forum.
A government spokesman said that the Cypriot government was promoting business activities on the island “as long as they are compatible and in line with EU rules.”
According to Nikos Vettas, an economist at the University of Athens, the business conditions in Europe are “no longer rosy” due to the major geopolitical crises as well as the strength of East Asia.
Vettas said Europe is also struggling due to an increasing lack of workers, a shrinking population and a technological disadvantage compared to East Asia in recent years.
Participants of the forum were particularly worried about the conflict in the Middle East. If the crisis spread further, “it will be a disaster,” Turlov said.
Since the outbreak of the conflict, many families from Israel, which is just an hour’s flight away from Cyprus, have travelled to Limassol or other areas on the island’s southern coast.
A real-estate agent told dpa that while the construction industry is booming, there are concerns in the property sector.
He said he fears what would happen if hundreds of thousands of people were to flee to Cyprus to escape the bombs in Lebanon: “Our small island would not be able to cope with that.”
GNA