The budget of the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy for 2025 amounts to 168 million euro, Deputy Minister Nicodemos Damianou said on Friday, noting that the aim is the transition to a modern digital state to improve the daily life of citizens, increase competitiveness and the shield the economy.

Speaking before the members of the Finance and Budget Parliamentary Committee, Damianou elaborated on the three main pillars of his Deputy Ministry's budget, namely digital transformation, sustainable innovative economy and cybersecurity.

Damianou said that the budget of the Deputy Ministry of Innovation amounts to approximately €168 million and explained that the project budget expenditure by strategic objective is 61.3% (€88.7 million) for digital transformation, 32.9% (€47.6 million) for research and innovation and 5.8% (€8.4 million) for cybersecurity.

After the session, Damianou expressed his satisfaction for the discussion and the interest of the MPs, noting that "we have committed, we have explained our strategic plan on how we will make sure that first of all we are moving towards a digital state, how we are bringing digital services to the citizens, professionals, and businesses of this country, but at the same time how we are creating an environment favourable for the further development of research and innovation".

He added that the Committee also addressed the issue of cybersecurity, an area in which the Government is investing heavily to shield the state’s critical infrastructure.

Asked whether spending on cybersecurity is low (it is around €8 million) and whether more should be added in this area, Damianou said it is a very dynamic sector, noting that "we are here to constantly assess the situation together with the Ministry of Finance."

He also said that this amount is only for the needs of the Deputy Ministry, recalling the separate budget of the Digital Security Authority and other sub-budgets that are part of departments that handle security issues.

Asked to comment on whether Cyprus is far from its technological goals, due to the outdated systems that exist, Damianou replied that there is the issue of upgrading and renewing the technological infrastructure, an issue that, as he explained, other countries are also facing.

He added that systems have been created which operate in isolation and have their own data, pointing out that a single data architecture should be created. He further noted that important steps and actions are being taken, stressing that "digital reform is not something that has a beginning and an end, it is something that we should continue to invest in". He said that Cyprus has taken significant steps which is also demonstrated in the latest European Commission’s 2030 Digital Decade Report.

Meanwhile, on the issue of connectivity, the Deputy Minister said that "we are investing in providing stable super high-speed connectivity by the end of 2025 to the entire population with 100% coverage. We will be the first country to achieve this."