Candidates focus on strengthening Cyprus as tech centre 

Easing relocations for foreign workers in the tech sector by smoothing the legal procedures and bureaucracy were among the top priorities the presidential candidates highlighted in an English-language debate earlier this week.

Organised by the non-profit organisation TechIsland, more than 400 people attended the debate which was one of the first ever debates for a specific sector: the technology industry.

The three top candidates – Nikos Christodoulides, Andreas Mavroyiannis, and Averof Neophytou – each presented their priorities for making Cyprus an international technology destination.

They engaged in a healthy dialogue about the exciting opportunities ahead for the tech industry focusing on their vision for the economy, the development of Cyprus as an international technology centre, the regulations and naturalisation programme for the IT foreign companies and their workers, housing problems and foreign language schooling for those wishing to work in Cyprus, and the difficulties in finding qualified personnel from the domestic market.

“Whatever the outcome of the elections is, TechIsland is committed to serving as a unique platform to exchange views from new ideas and foster collaborations,” said the founding member of TechIsland Stylianos Lambrou. “We are keen to build impactful partnerships towards a new, sustainable, inclusive, innovation driven economic model.”

Christodoulides said his vision is to make Cyprus one of the top countries in the EU to live, work and do business. Averof focused on the necessity to digitise government procedures. Mavroyiannis said that the Cyprus IT sector needs to create global competitive advantages.

“My first priority is to try my best to unify our divided island. Because when we’re talking about the economy, we cannot have a stable economy unless you have security in your country,” said Averof.” My vision is a AAA economy and to minimise the public debt by 85 per cent in the next five years.”

In practical terms Averof proposed fast tracking the examination of applicants for citizenship with a timetable for 12 months and moving all this procedure online.

Averof promised that his government will be fully digitalised by 2025 with having one digital ID for everything.

Mavroyiannis said the tech industry is one of his priorities. “To create in Cyprus, an ecosystem that will be user friendly and welcoming to international businesses. Especially in the technology sector. To facilitate relocation, to have the right legal environment, to help with all the bureaucratic procedures that unfortunately, continue to cause a lot of difficulties for people that want to come here. And we’re going to work in order to drastically change the procedures,” he said.

Christodoulides said much work has been done since the start of 2022 and this is in the right direction. “In our program, we approach this issue through a holistic approach by modernising the public sector.”

Mavroyiannis and Christodoulides mentioned that we need to give incentives for affordable housing to attract foreign workers. They all mentioned that we need clear rules for citizenship and naturalisations.

In terms of providing support for these tech companies all candidates agreed that Cyprus needs to focus on upskilling the workforce and all mentioned the importance of promoting more STEAM education in school.