ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA Athens organized an EU Recovery Mission to Cyprus from November 20 to 21, 2024, in collaboration with the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Enterprise Europe Network Cyprus, and the Cyprus-Austria Business Association. The diverse program included a briefing by the Austrian Trade Commissioner Christoph Sturm, a ReFocus Austria networking reception at the residence of the Austrian Ambassador Dr. Susanne Bachfischer, and a Cyprus-Austria Business Forum.
The goal of this mission was to provide Austrian companies with a compact and substantive introduction to the Cypriot Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) “first-hand” and to connect them specifically with the right B2G and B2B partners, thereby utilizing the available RRP funds in Cyprus, totaling over 1.2 billion euros, for bilateral projects. More than three-quarters of these funds will be disbursed in the next two years, offering the perfect timing for cooperation opportunities.
All top stakeholders from the relevant RRP ministries and institutions participated in the forum, including George Papanastasiou (Minister of Energy, Commerce, and Industry), George Komodromos (Deputy Director General of the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Strategy), Anthoula Savvides (Director of Recovery and Resilience, Directorate General Growth, Ministry of Finance), Savvas Vlachos (Director of the Cyprus Energy Agency), George Georgiou (Co-Founder of the Cyprus Association of Research and Innovation Enterprises), and Demetris Nissiotis (President of the Cyprus Information Technology Enterprises Association). Additionally, over 60 pre-arranged B2B meetings took place, helping participants establish direct contacts with potential cooperation and project partners.
The high-profile Austrian delegation, consisting of 10 leading Austrian companies in their respective fields: axtesys, Bioversal, DAS Energy, Plexon Solar, ILF, INNIO Jenbacher, Math-up, Panomax, PLPG, and Swarco, seized the opportunity to explore new market opportunities in Cyprus or deepen existing relationships within the Cypriot RRP.
Some impressions of the EU Recovery Mission are captured in this short video documentary.
