The monthly Smart Talk organized by the Italian-Cypriot Chamber of Commerce was held on February 18th, which saw as guests the Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy of Cyprus H.E. Kyriakos Kokkinosand the Chief Scientist of the Republic Dr. Nikolas Mastroyiannopoulos.
After the institutional greeting of the President of the Italian-Cypriot Chamber of Commerce Giuseppe Marino who underlined the importance of innovation as a driver to develop the huge potential in terms of cooperation between Cyprus and Italy, an interesting conversation took place with the distinguished guests moderated by Andrea Marchetti, Partner of Tonucci & Partners appointed for this purpose by the member of the Advisory Board of the Chamber, Mario Tonucci.
Deputy Minister Kokkinos and Chief Scientist Mastroyiannopoulos, answering the various questions, focused on the importance of innovation as a fundamental engine for a business strategy aimed at opening new markets and creating competitive competition, describing how Cyprus is building a new model of sustainability and prosperity that uses technology as a lever for competitiveness in order to create new jobs and new business methods, also aiming to consolidate cooperation with countries such as Italy sharing a Mediterranean culture and an economy based on small and medium-sized enterprises.
Cyprus’s national strategy aims to make the island the digital hub in the eastern Mediterranean and includes several initiatives, including the digitization of public administration, broadband and telemedicine, which has also been a fundamental tool for the island during the fight against the pandemic.
The important government incentives for the development of start-ups aimed at creating an innovative ecosystem with the aim of relaunching the Cypriot market and making it increasingly attractive internationally were also mentioned.
Among these, the important concessions and significant tax incentives for foreign investors were mentioned, reaffirming the desire to create an ever-increasing interaction between innovation and human capital, through synergies between Institutions, Universities and Companies.
The conclusions of the meeting, which was attended by more than fifty Italian companies operating in different sectors, were left to the Vice President of the Italian-Cypriot Chamber of Commerce Costas Katsaros who highlighted how the current phase of implementation of the Digital Innovation Policy of Cyprus, aimed at making the island a Digital Hub in the Mediterranean, represents an important link to bring together the operators of the two countries in the interesting projects of this new era.
For information and insights on the activities of the Italian-Cypriot Chamber of Commerce: segreteria@camcomitacipro.it
Last modified: February 1, 2022