Don’t draw Cyprus into the US games against China
Statement by AKEL C.C. Spokesperson Stefanos Stefanou on the budget of the Deputy Ministry of Innovation’s budget
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 5th November 2020, Nicosia
The debate surrounding the budget of the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy highlighted a fact and revealed a news item. The fact is that Cyprus ranks bottom of the table across Europe in the use of research and has a long way to go on issues related to innovation, new technologies and the internet. Despite the government’s declarations in recent years, very little has actually been done in these areas. As a result, the Deputy Ministry of Innovation assumes great responsibilities and it has a lot of work to do. Ambitious plans have been set, we hope they are fulfilled.
The news that came to light is that the US is trying to involve Cyprus in the technological and economic war they have started with China in the crucial 5G sector. According to Deputy Innovation Minister Mr.Kokkinos, “during a recent visit by the US Deputy Secretary of Economic Development to Cyprus, we were advised to follow the US approach to exclude the Chinese from the development of 5G.”
Given that the Anastasiades-DISY government is very prone to serving American interests, we hope it will not draw Cyprus into the dangerous games being played by the Americans, which will lead to the disruption of our relations with China.
In other words, we hope that the government will not follow the same erroneous path that it pursued in our country’s relations with Russia, in order to serve the Americans and their geostrategic interests.
