Cyprus President, Nikos Christodoulides, announced a tour of all districts, starting from rural areas, to discuss with the local key actors the Local Government reform which kicked in last July.

He was speaking on the sidelines of an event on Saturday afternoon at the Presidential Residence in Troodos organised by First Lady, Philippa Karsera-Christodoulides, for the promotion of small, local businesses.

President Christodoulides stated that the revitalisation of rural areas was among the Government's priorities. “To be able to achieve this, a holistic approach is required, which is about the existence of conditions, especially for young couples, to return to our countryside”, he added.

He referred to a housing scheme announced by the Government while also noting that the Government places special emphasis on education and health in rural areas as well as businesses.

President Christodoulides said that several projects have been done while “even more” would follow.

He also said that he would, in the near future, start a tour of all districts, starting from rural areas, following the implementation of the local government reform, to discuss with local key actors to see how to create the conditions to attract more people in rural areas, and proceed with the announcement of even more specific actions.

“Let's Go Troodos!” Festival

Scores of people visited on Saturday the grounds of the Presidential Residence in Troodos which opened its gates to the public for the first time, for the “Let's Go to Troodos!” Festival, which was organised at the initiative of the First Lady of the Republic of Cyprus Philippa Karsera Christodoulides, in collaboration with the Tourism Deputy Ministry, the Office of the Commissioner for the Development of Mountain Communities and the Press and Information Office.

The First Lady said that many small businesses that wish to make their products known participated and that all parties involved would like to see this festival becoming an annual event and grow so that, in the future, technocrats from the various ministries could also participate in order to be able to meet the owners of small businesses and help them through national and European programmes for the promotion of local products.

Karsera-Christodoulides also said that part of the proceeds from the event would be allocated to strengthening social structures in the area.

Tourism Deputy Minister, Kostas Koumis, who also attended the event, noted the eagerness of local craftspeople and artists to show their work.

“Authenticity in local products is an element that always gives a special dynamic to the object we serve, that of tourism”, Koumis said, adding that his Deputy Ministry was continuously investing in the sector, having recently announced very specific incentive schemes for mountainous Cyprus and rural areas.

Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Maria Panagiotou said that her Ministry participated in the event with a Common Agricultural Policy stand to brief members of the public about the schemes already available to the agricultural world to improve the quality and reduce the cost of their production.

Commissioner of Mountainous Areas Charalambos Christofinas, who thanked all the volunteers of the region for their support for the event, said that his office would always be by the side of producers and artisans.