Cyprus is the first country in the European Union to achieve 5G connectivity covering 100% of its population, Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Nicodemos Damianou, said on Friday at the Economist Conference, in Nicosia.

According to a press release issued by the organisers of the 20th Economist Conference in Cyprus, Damianou in his remarks referred to the investments that are being implemented in infrastructure in the region, such as data centres and submarine cables, in cooperation with countries such as Greece and Israel.

"Cyprus is the first country in the EU to achieve 5G connectivity covering 100% of the population - we are now moving forward with a pilot mmWave licence and deploying high-speed fibre optic connectivity at 100% of the population by the end of 2025", Damianou pointed out, noting that "technology is booming, now reaching 13%+ of GDP, being the fastest growing sector of the economy in the last 5 years, driven by the momentum created by a growing community of technology multinationals."

He also spoke about Cyprus' efforts to create the conditions for the development of Artificial Intelligence.

In addition, it is noted that Invest Cyprus Chairman Evgenios Evgeniou told the conference that businesses are taking advantage of fast-tracking procedures to place capital in Cyprus.

He said that in 2023 Cyprus achieved the highest increase (129%) in the EU in terms of foreign direct investment, which amounted to 3.5 billion euros, creating 2,500 new jobs.