President heads to Silicon Valley to promote Cyprus as tech hub
President Nikos Christodoulides is heading to San Francisco, California, where he will promote Cyprus as a regional technology and innovation hub during meetings in Silicon Valley.
Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the president would be meeting with leading executives of global technology and investment giants, including OpenAI, Amazon, Google, Nvidia, Oracle, Tenstorrent, Plug & Play, Andreessen Horowitz and Fortress Investment Group.
His aim, the spokesman added, was to connect Cyprus with global innovation, promote strategic synergies and attract investment and technology organisations seeking presence and growth in the European Union and the wider region.
The initiative is part of the government’s broader strategy to promote Cyprus as a reliable, stable and technologically evolving environment, capable of hosting start-ups, research centres and highly specialised technology companies, a strategy that exploits and enhances Cyprus’ comparative advantages, promoting the country as an ideal destination for high-tech investment and home to start-ups, Letymbiotis said.
“By exploiting its geographical location, which offers access to markets in the EU, the Middle East and North Africa, Cyprus can act as a bridge for cross-border cooperation and interconnection of three continents,” he added.
According to the statement, the fast-growing technology sector, which currently contributes over 14 per cent to the GDP and is recording an annual growth rate of between 15 per cent and 17 per cent, is supported by advanced digital connectivity infrastructure and a highly skilled ICT workforce.
Cyprus, Letymbiotis added, is among the most competitive ecosystems for start-ups and innovation, ranking eighth in the EU and 15th globally in terms of venture capital investment as a percentage of GDP.