The Cyprus Employers & Industrialists Federation (OEB) is constantly on alert, constantly evaluating conditions as they are being formed at any time on the front of the conflict in the Middle East, remaining ready to provide any assistance needed to its members.
In his statements to InBusinessNews, the Director General of OEB, Michael Antoniou, emphasised that "the situation is quite fluid and no assessments can be made with certainty."
Despite the difficulties and obvious risks, he continued, "there are some signs that justify a moderate optimism about the course of things."
The first, according to Antoniou, "is the reaction of the markets. We do not yet know how Europe will act, but in countries of the East, Asia and the Pacific there is a small decrease and not a dramatic collapse. We hope that there will be a relevant reaction from the European stock exchanges and later from the US Stock Exchange."
The second, he added, "is that oil prices, although under significant pressure, are expected to normalise depending on developments."
According to Antoniou, "the other important thing is that, according to our own information, the Straits of Hormuz have not been closed. Navigation from this particular point is becoming quite difficult, with precautions, delays, increased insurance premiums, etc., but the Straits remain open and this is considered a very good sign."
"Another good sign is that no oil installations in the warring countries have been hit," he pointed out.
More generally, Antoniou concluded, "we expect the situation to evolve and we are constantly vigilant, constantly evaluating the data as it develops, because as I said before, the situation is quite fluid."
OEB stands by its members
It is recalled that on Sunday, OEB held an emergency meeting under its President George Pantelides with the participation of the Director General and the Directors of all Departments of the organisation, with the aim of assessing the situation and the economic and business implications of the military operations in the wider Middle East region.
According to an OEB announcement, the following emerged from the meeting:
1. In relation to problems that may arise in the management, conduct and processing of the business activities of any enterprise of Cypriot interests in relation to or as a consequence of the crisis, OEB has established a special team which will collect the requests, record and codify the problems and forward them to the relevant competent Authorities, in cooperation with which it will try to suggest solutions or ways of handling them.
Affected businesses can contact OEB at the email info@oeb.org.cy (with the indication "Crisis in the Middle East") or by text message on WhatsApp or Viber at +357 99024617.
2. In relation to the management of requests from Cypriots and their families in the affected areas, the competent State Authorities have mobilised immediately and in a coordinated manner and have made the local Cypriot Embassies available to anyone interested.
A relevant announcement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is https://share.google/kbj7Lfo6WWmoN0wVC which lists telephone numbers and email addresses for contact with Cyprus' Embassies in Egypt, Jordan - Iraq, UAE, Iran, Israel, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Bahrain, Oman, Palestine (Representation in Ramallah), Saudi Arabia - Yemen and Syria.
At the same time, in the event that communication as above is not possible or desirable, contact can also be made with the National Crisis Management Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic at tel. +357 22801000 and at the email cycc@mfa.gov.cy
Finally, in case it is absolutely necessary, we also provide the contact details of the European Union Delegations in the region, as follows:
- UAE – Abu Dhabi, tel +971 (02) 2051111, email delegation-united-arab-emirates@eeas.europa.eu
- Saudi Arabia - Riyadh (αρμόδιο και για Bahrain & Oman), tel +968 2469 9500.
- Qatar – tel +974 4047 1184, email delegation-qatar@eeas.europa.eu
3. At the macroeconomic level, the situation requires calm and continuous assessment of the impacts, with market reactions and oil prices as the main parameters. OEB will systematically monitor developments, inform businesses and act accordingly.
(Source: InBusinessNews)
