Ministers focus on plan for developing Tillyria

Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou on Wednesday presided over an inter-ministry meeting to discuss actions to rejuvenate the Tillyria area.

The meeting, which was established on the basis of a recent cabinet decision, was attended by the ministers of finance, energy, agriculture and education, as well as the deputy minister for tourism, and the undersecretary to the president.

The goal is for any interventions in Tillyria to be coordinated by all the relevant ministries and deputy ministries, Ioannou said, further explaining that the aim is to promote targeted measures and policy actions to deal with deforestation, and the general revitalisation of the area.

He added that the interior ministry will undertake coordinating the preparation of an action plan which will create prospects for retaining the existing population and attracting new residents, as well as strengthening the communities of Tillyria, so that they attract tourism, culture, agriculture and environmental development.

The meeting covered the various issues faced by the struggling region of Tillyria due to its geographical isolation, its remoteness and the special conditions that have been created due to the Turkish invasion, while suggestions were made by the relevant officials to encourage development.

It was decided that the competent ministers and deputy ministers will internally evaluate the set of proposals coming from a study prepared on the region.

They will also consider the proposals and requests submitted by local community leaders to shape their own proposals for actions or measures.

The finalised list of actions and measures will be presented in about a month when the committee reconvenes to finalise the action plan for the region, which is expected to take its final form in October.