Growth in Cyprus remains higher than the European average, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Monday, addressing the annual innovation and research awards organised by employers’ federation OEV and the Research and Innovation Foundation.
Christodoulides said Cyprus continued to receive improved ratings for its economy and had entered category A for the first time since 2011.
Cyprus, he said, had a strong foundation to build on and the next step was to focus on how to utilise it for increased productivity and the economy’s competitiveness, by investing in knowledge, technology and high specialisation.
“Our aim is for an economy that creates even more quality jobs, offers prospects to the young generation and turns growth into real benefit for society,” he said.
Christodoulides pointed out that the broader technological sector was contributing approximately 15 per cent of the GDP, while the ecosystem of emerging entrepreneurship had multiplied in size since 2020.
“Cyprus now ranks 34th worldwide in the StartupBlink list for 2026, recording the highest increase in Europe for the third consecutive year,” he said.
The president said his government’s vision was to “establish Cyprus as a hub of innovation and technology in the region, a reliable base, where innovative ideas can evolve at ever stage and expand successfully into the European and international markets”.
Access to funding, he added, was imperative and referred to investments, grants and agreements signed for around €270 million, which also created 700 new jobs and 187 networks for cooperation among research organisations and businesses.
Public support also contributed to moving private capital, Christodoulides said.
From 2021 till 2025, programmes attracted private investment in excess of €47 million.
At the same time, Christodoulides said, the government was channelling resources to strategic priorities, including digital and clean technology, biotechnology and AI innovation for state administration, while at the same time backing the work of research organisations.
He furthermore referred to targeted business missions abroad, such as the United States, India and Kazakhstan, transforming international cooperation into more opportunities for Cypriot scientists and businesses.
“Our aim is to form a coherent framework of priorities and interventions for the years to come,” he added.
OEV chairman Giorgos Pantelides said “innovation and research assume true value when they stop being a thought or a note on paper and turn into practice, production, implementation and reached the market, work and our daily lives.”
Innovation, he added, was not a luxury, but a fundamental prerequisite for the competitiveness of the country and sustainable development.
Head research scientist at the Research and Innovation Foundation Demeris Skourides said Cyprus had taken significant steps in research and innovation, with internationally recognised results.
Research and innovation, he added, constituted strategic preconditions for the next phase of Cyprus’ growth.
Following the speeches, Christodoulides presented the awards.