“Cyprus has evolved into one of the fastest growing technology and innovation ecosystems in Europe”
India’s Digital India initiative has transformed governance and service delivery – how do you compare this with Cyprus’s digital transformation policies and priorities?
Digital India stands as one of the world’s most impactful models of technology-driven growth, inclusion and public service transformation. Cyprus shares a very similar strategic vision: leveraging technology and innovation to build a modern, inclusive and competitive knowledge-based economy.
As an EU member state at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Cyprus offers a trusted platform for technology investment and entrepreneurial business activity. Currently, we are implementing the largest digital transformation programme in our history; aimed not simply at digitizing services, but at fundamentally reshaping how the state, the economy and society function.
Where India demonstrates what is possible at scale, Cyprus offers something complementary: a highly agile, trusted European environment, where technologies can be piloted, validated and deployed faster, within a predictable regulatory framework aligned with EU standards.
This combination—scale from India, agility and regulatory access from Cyprus—creates a particularly compelling basis for cooperation. Cyprus can serve as a bridge—enabling innovative solutions developed in India, to be adapted and scaled into the European market. A European Hub with a Global outlook.
What are the key digital policy initiatives currently being implemented by Cyprus to enhance innovation, e-governance, and technological growth?
Our policy agenda runs on several interconnected tracks. First, public sector modernization: large-scale projects that improve the productivity and efficiency of the state, while enhancing service delivery for citizens and businesses.
Second, inclusiveness through connectivity and skills: nation-wide rollout of high-capacity fiber-optic network sin addition to 5G, across 100% of the population and government-funded skilling initiatives.
Third, we are placing Artificial Intelligence at the center of our strategy; actively encouraging AI uptake across both the public and private sectors, supported by investments in compute infrastructure, participation in the European AI Factory ecosystem, and a new national AI strategy– to be announced soon – focused on trusted human-centered blueprint deployment in sectors that matter for our economy, and AI-focused innovation.
The work done by the Cypriot government on eGovernment services is recognized by the World Bank Gov. Tech Maturity Index 2025, where Cyprus now ranks in the top Category “Extensive Gov. Tech Maturity” amongst 197 countries.
Together, these measures reduce friction for founders and investors, encourage commercialization, attract international talent and investment, and create the conditions for scalable innovation and sustainable growth.
Cyprus is recognized for its strong performance in research and innovation—what factors have contributed to this success, and how does the government support this ecosystem?
Cyprus has evolved into one of the fastest growing technology and innovation ecosystems in Europe. We are building an EU Startup nation, grounded in a future focused economy.
The technology sector is expanding in double digits, now contributing over 15% of GDP, while the country’s startup ecosystem ranks in the global Top40in the Startup Blink Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025, recording the largest jump in the EU for the second consecutive year. Major global players -including from India- are increasingly selecting Cyprus as a base for their regional and European operations, while technology accounts for approximately 30% of total FDI inflows, with over €2.5 billion invested in 2024 alone.
This progress is underpinned by a stable and resilient macroeconomic environment, with the Cypriot economy consistently outperforming the European average and creating a strong foundation for investment, innovation, and business growth.
The government’s role is focused on creating the right enabling conditions for this ecosystem to thrive. This includes targeted policy interventions, such as an attractive IP box regime, enhanced R&D tax reliefs, equity-free funding through the Research and Innovation Foundation and talent mobility schemes, such as Startup and Digital Nomad visas. In fact, Cyprus ranks particularly high – 15th globally and 1st in Southern Europe –In the Innovators Business Environment Index (IBEI) 2026, which measures practical and innovation-relevant conditions and ease of doing business for startups and founders. In parallel, Cyprus is strongly advancing the digitalization of the private sector, ranking 7th in the European Digital Intensity Index, while also benefiting from a highly digitally engaged and skilled population. Cyprus has one of the highest shares of tertiary-educated population in the EU, a multilingual workforce, and a rapidly growing base of ICT specialists, which has doubled over the past decade.
With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, how is the Government of Cyprus approaching AI governance, regulation, and its integration into public services?
Cyprus approaches AI with a balanced strategy focused on both innovation and trust.
We strongly support AI adoption as a driver of productivity, competitiveness, and public-sector transformation, while also recognising the importance of governance, transparency, security, and ethical safeguards. As an EU member state — and currently at the helm of the EU Council— we are actively engaged in discussions around the implementation of the EU AI Act, with particular emphasis on responsible innovation, citizen protection, and safeguards for vulnerable groups, especially minors.
At the same time, we are investing in infrastructure and capabilities. Through Pharos-CY, Cyprus participates in the Euro HPC AI Factory network, while strengthening sovereign compute capacity and strategic international partnerships in the field. AI is already being integrated into practical public-sector applications, while a new strategy underway aims to identify specific sectoral use cases, where impact can be maximized.
Ultimately, our objective is to ensure that AI delivers real value to citizens and businesses, while remaining aligned with democratic and human-centric principles.
A key element of our strategy is to position Cyprus as a regional AI Adoption Hub—a trusted environment where companies can pilot, test, and scale AI solutions in real-world conditions, within an EU-compliant framework.
Cyprus has already applied this sandbox model for Fintech and Regtech solutions under the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, with great success. We are looking to do the same for AI; this is something particularly relevant for any company, including those in India, seeking to bring advanced AI solutions into the 450m European market.
How do you envision Cyprus and India collaborating more closely in research, innovation, and digital technologies to create mutually beneficial outcomes?
The relationship between Cyprus and India has entered a particularly dynamic phase, especially in the technology and innovation domains. The exchange of high-level visits over the past two years reflects strong and sustained political momentum, which is already translating into concrete business partnerships, investments, and institutional cooperation.
Cyprus sees itself as a natural partner for India’s growing global innovation footprint, while at the same time, India’s global leadership in technology, creates enormous opportunities for collaboration.
Looking ahead, we see particularly strong potential and are already taking concrete steps in this direction. A bilateral Memorandum of Understanding on Innovation and Technology has just been signed, facilitating links and cooperation between our two ecosystems. In addition, the India–Cyprus–Greece Business and Investment Council has been established to strengthen cooperation across strategic sectors, while initiatives such as the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) create significant opportunities for deeper and broader cooperation. Looking ahead, we see strong opportunities in AI and emerging technologies, particularly in developing testbeds, pilot projects, and joint research initiatives. There is also significant potential in strengthening startup and ecosystem connectivity by linking entrepreneurs, researchers, and investors more closely across our two countries. At the same time, digital infrastructure and connectivity supporting secure and trusted cross-border digital ecosystems, is a key area for collaboration.
Ultimately, the opportunity before us is not simply to expand trade or investment, but to co-create a new innovation corridor—linking India’s scale and technological leadership with Cyprus’s agility, regulatory alignment, and access to European markets.