Deputy Shipping Minister Marina Hadjimanolis has expressed the commitment of the Cyprus Maritime Administration to do its utmost to support and enhance the efforts, endeavours and objectives of the country's shipping industry.  

She was addressing the Great Britain-Cyprus International Investment Conference held in Limassol on Thursday and Friday, that aims to promote business network between the two countries.

In her speech, she referred to the turbulent times and the challenges, which the shipping industry is facing.

"We are confident that the steps taken to enhance competitiveness and to promote shipping will contribute to our vision of growing our maritime cluster in both size and range of activities and will pave the way for a future, defined by prosperity, opportunity and enduring success", she said.    

Hadjimanolis noted that "Cyprus and the United Kingdom have traditionally enjoyed excellent relations and outstanding cooperation", adding that in the field of shipping this culminated in the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between Cyprus and UK.  

"The history of shipping goes back many centuries ago. The strategic geographical location of the island of Cyprus, at the crossroads of three continents, played a critical role in the development of Cyprus as an important shipping centre. The establishment of the Shipping Deputy Ministry in 2018, undoubtedly marked a new era for shipping in Cyprus, demonstrating the political support and commitment of Cyprus to the shipping sector", she added.

Hadjimanolis said the Cyprus Registry ranks among the top registries in the world and last year marked 60 years since the establishment of the Registry.  "During the last 6 months we are very happy to have witnessed an increase of vessels registered under the Cyprus flag, amounting to 5.5%", she remarked, adding that  Cyprus is a modern, efficient and integrated maritime shipping cluster and is also ranked amongst the leading in the world.  As a third-party ship management centre, it is the largest in Europe and amongst the top 3 worldwide. 

Deputy, British High Commissioner, Ben Rowlings, in his address, referred to the current challenges stemming from the volatile political situation with the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the economic crisis and the application of Artificial Intelligence.

The UK, in its position of a global economic power, is continuing, he said, "a long tradition of innovation and entrepreneurship, and opening up new global opportunities, being one of only 3 countries in the world with a trillion-dollar digital tech sector".  

He noted that "our attention is focusing on investments as this is a leading driving force for growth. The UK Global Investment Summit in 2021 secured nearly £10billion of pledges", he said, adding that Cyprus "has proven that it can overcome problems and rise as a leading actor in multiple sectors".

With the aim of attracting financial investments in finance, shipping, and technology, establishing the island as a headquartering destination and with a booming tourism industry, Cyprus, he added, "is building strong regional and international partnerships. By offering an attractive environment for businesses and workers, Cyprus meets expectations as well as modern world needs".

Savvas Kyriakides, President of the Great Britain-Cyprus Business Association referred to actions to further strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the field of investments and business networking. As he said, the conference focuses this year on the promotion of real estate and other investment opportunities in Cyprus and Great Britain.

The conference was also welcomed by Limassol Mayor Nikos Nicolaides, who referred to the prospects Limassol provides for investments. The conference ends on Friday and is attended by investors from other countries.