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FINMIN optimistic for Qatar

26/01/2011 13:04
Finance Minister, Charilaos Stavrakis expressed his optimism on Wednesday that the negotiations with Qatar for the development of the state property opposite Hilton will have a positive outcome to the benefit of Cyprus.

Speaking at a press conference on the issue, he said that negotiations with Qatari Diar are very tough but expressed his optimism that the outcome will be positive for the island.

“The climate is not easy. However, I am optimistic that at the end of the day we will reach an agreement that will be to the benefit of the Cypriot economy”, he said.

In his effort to show the size of difficulty, the Minister said that during his visit together with the government spokesman to Qatar, the Emir stated that other countries such as Greece and Turkey give their land for free while Cyprus wants to sell it.

Mr. Stavrakis explained that this is not feasible in Cyprus due to certain laws that do not allow it.

Invited to clarify whether the Cypriot government is ready to make sacrifices in relation to the land evaluation, he said that we cannot say that the property price is of no importance but indeed there are other more significant factors that will be taken into account by the Board of Directors that undertook the analysis on the basis of the new data.

At the same time, he made clear that there are no time frameworks in relation to the agreement. “Since it is about a joint venture, the Cypriot government has every right to make sure that the project will be viable”, he concluded.