The French Ambassador to Cyprus, Salina Grenet-Catalano, expressed her readiness to contribute to the further development of economic and business relations between her country and Cyprus. She was speaking during a recent visit to the offices of the Limassol Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), where she met with the President and members of the LCCI Executive Committee.
Welcoming Mrs. Grenet-Catalano and her associates, the Chamber President Andreas Tsouloftas praised the cooperation between the two countries and thanked for the consistent support of France to Cyprus, including at the political level. Mr. Tsouloftas then referred to the economic characteristics of Limassol, in which companies from the whole spectrum of economic activity operate - manufacturing, trade, services, tourism, shipping and ship management, high technology.
The President cited projects and areas where there could be closer cooperation with French companies, such as high technology, especially in relation to the technology park. which is a primary, long-term goal of the Chamber, but also in technologies relating to renewable energy sources. He also noted the possibilities of strengthening the French tourist flow to Cyprus, which, however, requires a significant improvement in air connectivity between the two countries.
For her part, the French ambassador noted that she and her associates are open to ideas that will promote further bilateral business cooperation. He emphasized that the pandemic had caused serious problems to the economies of European countries, but the European Union is allocating huge amounts toward post-pandemic economic growth, especially in the areas of green development and digitalization. The business community, she said, needs to make best use of the opportunities arising therefrom.
In their meeting, which was also attended on behalf of the Chamber by the Vice Presidents of Industry, Tourism and Economy Charalambos Pattihis, Anthi Theocharous and Liakos Theodorou respectively, the two sides also discussed possibilities of further strengthening the business relations between Limassol and Marseille, two port cities with several common characteristics.
