Averof Neofytou

The European Union will offer economic aid to Lebanon when the European Commission and Cypriot presidents jointly visit Beirut on Thursday, a Cypriot official has said.

Cyprus has grown increasingly concerned at a sharp increase in the number of Syrian refugees making their way to the island. Lebanon, a mere 185 km away from Cyprus, hosts hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday received the President of the House of Representatives of Cyprus and President of the Democratic Rally (DISY) party, Annita Demetriou, at the Maximos Mansion in Athens.

The latest developments in the Cyprus issue, the common challenges faced by Greece and Cyprus and security in the Eastern Mediterranean dominated the meeting.

Averof Neophytou, a former presidential candidate in Cyprus, told the Electricity Market Association general assembly on Thursday that the energy sector needs significant investments and, therefore, long-term planning and the formulation of a national energy policy.

The three front-runners vying for the presidency of ethnically split Cyprus wound down their campaigns Friday, putting pronouncements of their leadership credentials ahead of issues two days before the election.

The Cyprus government announced an 'improved plan B' with a major input from the European Investment Bank to rescue the economy hurt by the coronavirus pandemic with loans worth €1.7 bln, as well as subsidies of interest rates for business and housing loans, after it failed to pass a smaller loans-guarantee scheme through parliament which would have required greater transparency.

Amid tension in the Eastern Mediterranean fueled by Turkey's continuing provocations, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has assured the head of Cyprus' ruling Democratic Rally party Averof Neofytou that Greece stands by the ethnically-split island.

Greek opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis arrived in Nicosia on Thursday for a two-day visit during which he will also hold talks with President Nicos Anastasiades.

Arriving in Cyprus, the conservative leader was welcomed by the head of Cyprus' Democratic Rally (DISY) party, Averof Neofytou.

A day after ExxonMobil announced a significant natural gas deposit discovery off Cyprus, the ethnically split country's parliament approved the establishment of an investment fund for any future hydrocarbon proceeds.

Conservative New Democracy party leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis was in Helsinki on Wednesday for the congress of the European People's Party (EEP) which will on Thursday elect its candidate to lead the European Commission.

Greece's main opposition leader will have a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the congress.

Ruling SYRIZA expressed its support on Monday for communist-backed Stavros Malas, a former health minister, ahead of Sunday's runoff vote in Cyprus's presidential elections.