Chief Scientist Dimitris Skourides participated in an Invest Cyprus event, which took place on Thursday 5 September in New Delhi, India, aimed at promoting Cyprus as an emerging technology and innovation hub, as well as a reliable gateway for investments to and from Europe.

According to a press release, the meeting was also attended by the Deputy Minister for Research, Innovation and Digital Policy,  Nicodemos Damianou, the High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus to India, Evagoras Vryonides, the CEO of Invest Cyprus, Marios Tannousis, the executives of PWC, Chrysilios Pelekanos, and Eurobank, Panayiotis Chrystostomou, as well as a number of entrepreneurs and potential investors from India.

Skourides had the opportunity to present the research, technology and innovation ecosystem of Cyprus, to highlight the incentives provided to attract investment and talent to the country, as well as the efforts made by the state to make Cyprus a hub for research, innovation and international entrepreneurship, stressing that Cyprus presents high levels of scientific excellence, as it has a remarkable research potential with significant achievements both at national and European level.

He also emphasised the notable research infrastructure of the Centres of Excellence that have been developed in Cyprus with co-funding by the European Commission, the services they provide and the important role they play in the development of the ecosystem, as well as the opportunities presented for the internationalisation of their services through new partnerships and investments from countries such as India.

It is added that Skourides held talks with over 30 stakeholders and provided a thorough briefing on the benefits of cooperation between entities from Cyprus and India, tax incentives, the funding programmes of the Research and Innovation Foundation which can be exploited, as well as the opportunities for access to the single European market from the country.

During his meetings, he identified and provided specific opportunities for cooperation with innovative companies in Cyprus, specialized in Fintech, Reg-tech, Health- tech, Agrofood and ICT, areas that are highlighted in the country's Smart Specialization Strategy and are priorities of the Research and Innovation Strategy 2024, it is added.

It is also noted that the Director General of the Cyprus Research & Innovation Foundation, Theodoros Loukaides, also travelled to New Delhi to participate in the one-day CII India-Mediterranean Business Conclave, organised by the Ministry of External Affairs of India and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), with the participation of representatives from 28 countries, while the Cypriot representation was led by the Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy.

The conference was attended by, among others, India's Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal and the country's Minister of External Affairs, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, with Loukaides participating in a panel on "Maritime Cooperation and Blue Economy: connecting shores and harnessing coastal potential", during which he presented the potential of the Cypriot research and innovation ecosystem in the Maritime and Blue Economy sector, which is included in the National Research and Innovation Strategy 2024.

He also highlighted international cooperation opportunities in digitalisation and green maritime transition, and provided examples of successful R&D and innovation projects carried out by Cypriot research organisations and businesses, both in the framework of the Foundation's and the European Commission's funding programmes.

It is added that the Director General of the Foundation also participated in a roundtable meeting with potential investors and entrepreneurs from India, during which he presented the potential of the Cypriot R&D ecosystem, with particular emphasis on technologies and artificial intelligence, as well as on opportunities for cooperation between Cyprus and India.

Skourides departed from India on Thursday, 5 September for Paris, where on Friday, 6 September he participated in the "Chief Science Advisors Roundtable 2024 - CSAR 2024" event on "Fostering open science, bridging knowledge asymmetry, and building science advisory capacity globally", organized by UNESCO and the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, the press release concluded.