BAHRAIN and Cyprus share a synergy on their touristic strategies that are driven by nature, landscape, heritage and history, said a top Bahraini minister.
Industry Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed Alzayani also stressed on plans to promote Gulf Air as a carrier “to and from Cyprus and beyond”, with the airline currently flying to and from Larnaca.
His views were welcomed by his Cypriot counterpart Savvas Perdios who expressed delight at the possibility of his country being Bahrain’s springboard to connect to the world, post-pandemic.
“On tourism both of us being island nations have fundamentals to promote – our countries as a unique destination,” said Mr Alzayani.
“While discussing various alternatives we are quite comforted to see that there’s a lot of synergy between our strategies depending on and driven mainly by nature, landscape, heritage and history.
“In terms of heritage and geography we share a lot – two islands each of which is a passage to its own region and this is where we want to collaborate more going forward.”
The ministers were speaking at a Press conference yesterday at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, after due discussions on possible bilateral ties in the field of tourism post-Covid-19.
“We are delighted to hear of Bahrain’s intention to use Cyprus as a springboard to even more connectivity abroad,” said Mr Perdios, Cyprus Tourism Deputy Minister.
“Our countries are both at the phase where we realise that tourism has changed with the pandemic, with our attention on creating a tourism industry which is more sustainable, more experiential, more focused on heritage.
“I am glad to see that everything that we have in mind for the next decade is also your (Bahrain) strategy,” he added.
During the stay until Friday the team will be hosting an event to showcase Cyprus to Bahrain and its people.
Meanwhile, Mr Alzayani also underlined the possibility of robust trade co-operation between Cyprus and Bahrain, citing “a very strong base to start from” and “upward trend” which was backed by Natasa Pilides, Cyprus’ Energy, Commerce and Industry Minister.
Investments
“We have several areas that we can explore together and a lot of common objectives – we can identify investments which will help us to benefit mutually in areas such as construction, health services, and investment funds.
“Many of our products could be enjoyed more by the people of both the countries,” she said, specifying Cyprus’ “halloumi cheese” – which she said could see an increased presence in Bahrain.
She also spoke about a business forum soon to be held in Cyprus to further these discussions with the business communities.
Economic Development Board chief executive Khalid Humaidan highlighted the strengths of Bahrain making it investor friendly, which was welcomed by Cyprus government spokesman Marios Pelekanos.
“Cyprus offers a number of advantages as a business-friendly location which provides access to the European market and for this reason we have a number of companies from the region setting up presence and offices in our country,” said Mr Pelekanos.
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