The Cyprus Employers & Industrialists Federation (OEB) can make a catalytic contribution to the development of the country and to the improvement of the living standards of the population, its President, George Pantelides, has emphasised.
Opening OEB's AGM, Pantelides stated that the reforms that the economy needs and businesses are demanding are aimed at making the state a partner and not an obstacle to further development. “Electoral gains will be brought by bold decisions that will combat the outdated practices of the past that are holding the country back, will unleash the potential of the economy and society and will gain the long-awaited trust of citizens,” the OEB President noted in this regard.
He assured, among other things, that the OEB and the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCCI) are economic partners, who move forward on critical issues unitedly, supporting all businesses and the economy. "And the promotion of extroversion is one of the critical issues that the OEB cannot exclude. The presence of almost the entire leadership of the CCCI at our today's Assembly, which I welcome, is the best proof of this unity," he characteristically pointed out.
Referring to the difficult and uncertain situation that tourism is experiencing, the President of OEB explained that Cyprus is being called upon to focus its efforts on diversifying specific travel guidelines that affect the tourist flow to Cyprus, to strengthen and personalise its communication strategy, to strengthen the connectivity of our country with targeted incentives to airlines, to provide incentives to strengthen and upgrade the tourism product, as well as to expand the tourist season through smart and targeted actions.
Regarding electricity, George Pantelides focused on three parameters. The first is security/stability and is non-negotiable, as he said, noting, however, that this necessarily means the periodic rejection of some RES production "a rejection that we hope will decrease as storage capabilities increase". He also stressed that there will soon be a problem with adequacy, which will be exacerbated, as he said, by the correct political decision to address the water issue with new desalination units, indicating that what is urgent is to find a way to utilise private electricity production units. Regarding costs, Pantelides emphasised that "we must finally come to terms with the serial arrival of natural gas and the FSRU, we must ensure appropriate and sustainable electrical interconnection with the rest of Europe, we must make greater use of RES, green hydrogen and energy storage, we must reduce pollutant emissions that weigh on bills and we must hurry because we are losing ground, we are losing competitiveness."
Analysing the sector of extroversion, which means promoting exports and attracting sustainable investments with high added value, George Pantelides acknowledged that the Government of Nikos Christodoulides has raised the bar high, with the personal stamp of the President of the Republic himself.
"However, it is impossible for us to understand how it is possible for this national mission to exclude OEB - the largest employers' organisation in the country with 120 professional/business associations and thousands of member companies, which cumulatively cover over 70% of GDP", wondering how it is possible for OEB to be excluded, which is a member and holds the Vice-Presidency of BusinessEurope, the largest European business community (with members of over 25 million companies) and which participates in EU trade agreements with other economies such as the recent agreement with India.
"Some are citing older practices or even agreements, which while we asked to see them, to this day no one has shown us, simply because OEB has never signed any agreement that would make it a second-class Business Organization. Some are also citing legislation from the first decade of the Republic's existence, to keep OEB excluded from international Government actions to promote the interests of Cypriot businesses," Pantelides.
He clarified, however, that the OEB and the CCCI are economic partners, moving forward on critical issues unitedly, supporting all businesses and the economy, explaining that the promotion of extroversion is one of the critical issues that the OEB cannot exclude.
(Source: InBusinessNews)
