Beirut, June 12, 2017 – The President of the Association of the Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASCAME), Mohamed Choucair, met in Beirut, Lebanon, with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Enstaassadis, to further discuss trade relations between Lebanon and Cyprus and investment opportunities in the Mediterranean region as a whole.

The President of Cyprus visited the headquarters of the ASCAME Presidency in Beirut, as part of his official visit to Lebanon, and both institutions discussed tourism and real estate, as well as banking cooperation between two countries, and the countries of the region. Both parties agreed on the importance of cooperation between the private sector in both countries and regionally and take appropriate measures to facilitate mutual investments and intra-trade.

Highlights of the meeting

The Cypriot president took this opportunity to express his admiration for the Lebanese private sector, in particular, its dynamism and strong relations in Cyprus and the investments it makes, expressing his government’s readiness to take the necessary measures to develop economic relations between the two countries.

The meeting was attended by the Cypriot President, the Cypriot delegation, Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Energy and a large crowd of officials, heads of economic organizations, associations and economic unions and more than 250 businessmen from both countries.

The ASCAME President expressed his gratitude for the visit and asserted that “economic growth is the most successful way to achieve development, prosperity and peace.” He also called on “industrialists, traders, investors, service providers and other businessmen interested in the two countries to seize this opportunity to strengthen cooperation and create effective business partnerships.”

On his part, the President Anastasiades stressed the importance of activating economic relations through increasing investments and trade exchanges, pointing out that “we have a lot of geographical and social ties, which date back to the Phoenician times- to be exploited”.

Within the context of this fruitful meeting, the ASCAME President was invited to visit Cyprus by the end of 2017.