President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, referred on Tuesday to the most important policies that his administration promoted and implemented since assuming office a year ago stressing that “we have laid the foundation to achieve the best Cyprus that we all envision”.
In a televised message on the occasion of the completion of the first year in office, the President said that “I certainly do not claim that in these first twelve months we did not avoid mistakes. But I can confidently say that we laid the foundation to achieve the best Cyprus that we all envision”.
At the center of our priorities, he stressed, remains the Cyprus issue and recalled that in the coming days the personal envoy of the UN Secretary General for Cyprus will return to the country to continue her contacts.
The appointment of Maria Angela Holguín Cuéllar, he said, and the beginning of a new effort to restart talks was the result of our own persistent efforts and initiatives.
“Without ignoring the difficulties and challenges as
a result of the Turkish stance, we approach Holguin’s mission with absolute seriousness and as a window of opportunity for the resumption of substantive talks. Our effort for a more active involvement of the European Union, taking into account the full spectrum of Euro-Turkish relations falls within this framework. Such a development can lead us, through the solution of the Cyprus issue, to a mutually beneficial state of affairs”, he continued.
Referring to the economy, he said that the upgrading of our economy to investment grade by all rating agencies is a vote of confidence and a reward for the prudent policies we follow and is based on fiscal responsibility, solid financial system and continuous reforms”.
He also said that addressing the immigration problem was of high importance for the government in its first year, so as Cyprus is no longer considered an attractive destination.
As a result of our work, he pointed out, for the first time, asylum seekers and others leaving Cyprus have increased by 66%
and their number is higher than the one of those that arrive. “The data speaks for itself,” he said.
The President also said that the policies and actions that were decided, implemented or that have been launched, will be made public and that the Ministers and Deputy Ministers will present at press conferences the work they have accomplished so far.
Source: Cyprus News Agency
