Talks explore R&D potential, AI collaboration, cloud infrastructure, and more

Senior executives from Amazon have arrived in Cyprus as of Tuesday, marking a significant step in follow-up discussions stemming from recent high-level meetings between the Cypriot government and major US tech firms in Silicon Valley.

The visit was confirmed on Wednesday by the Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Nicodemos Damianou, following the conclusion of a Cabinet meeting.

Damianou stated that the Cabinet had been briefed on the outcomes of the meetings held in the United States, particularly in Silicon Valley, with global technology companies.

“In continuation of the meetings that the president of the Republic and the government delegation held in the United States, we have already, as of yesterday, together with the Chief Scientist, welcomed senior executives from Amazon to begin examining the issues discussed during our visit,” he said.

According to the deputy minister, the discussions with Amazon are focused on the possibility of establishing a presence in Cyprus, potentially through a specialised research and development centre or collaboration with ecosystem stakeholders.

Other topics on the table include partnerships to strengthen digital skills, with particular emphasis on technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), as well as cooperation and assistance in solving key challenges such as early wildfire prevention, traffic management, and other complex problems.

“These companies are in a constant cycle of growth and innovation and can offer us relevant expertise on such issues,” Damianou stated.

He added that the government is also exploring the potential development of digital infrastructure in Cyprus, such as data centres.

This would fall under the Deputy Ministry’s ‘Cloud First‘ policy and the ongoing selection process for a strategic partner to build the national “g-cloud”, the government’s cloud computing platform.

Looking ahead, Damianou announced that representatives from Plug and Play and Tenstorrent are expected to arrive in Cyprus during the week of May 5.

Their visit will initiate a process to evaluate how and in what form both companies could operate within the country.

According to the deputy minister, the aim is for these companies “to get to know our ecosystem in Cyprus, the research activity, the technological sectors, and the network of start-ups in the country”.

At the same time, initial contact is beginning this week with other companies that the delegation met in the US, including Microsoft and others whose names have not yet been made public.

Within the next two weeks, the government expects to have its first formal engagements with OpenAI, Oracle, and Google.

Damianou said these meetings will “allow us to enter into in-depth discussions about the possibilities for cooperation and prospects, based on the dialogue that took place in the presence of the president of the Republic.”

The deputy minister further stated that “these are indicative and informative of what is currently underway as a result of the visit”.

“The next two weeks will include meetings and the beginning of discussions with all the companies that the delegation met,” he added.

“The momentum and interest that we observed during our visit is now being confirmed in practice, and as a government we are ready to maximise this momentum,” Damianou concluded.