President Christodoulides holds Invest Cyprus roundtable
Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides held an investment roundtable in New Delhi on 25 May as part of his state visit, where statesmen, technologists, entrepreneurs, and investors gathered in pursuit of a common proposition: the shaping of a new bridge between Indian innovation and European opportunity.
The engagement at Invest Cyprus reflected the increasingly vigorous India–Cyprus Strategic Partnership, which is now extending well beyond diplomacy into investment, entrepreneurship, AI, digital transformation, media-tech, and innovation-led economic collaboration, said HT Labs, the innovation and technology arm of HT Media Group.
“We are extremely encouraged by the response and the depth of interest demonstrated by several major Indian enterprises,” said Evgenios Evgeniou, Chairman of Invest Cyprus.
“A number of companies expressed serious intent towards exploring investments and long-term strategic partnerships in Cyprus. We will now undertake systematic follow-up with participating organisations and entrepreneurs to facilitate deeper engagement, provide the necessary support frameworks, and explore tangible co-building opportunities in the near future.”
Particular attention was paid to Cyprus’s emergence as a business-friendly and innovation-oriented European base for Indian enterprises seeking expansion into EU markets, says HT Labs in a report on the event.
Dr. Nicodemos Damianou, Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, articulated Cyprus’s long-term vision with notable precision. He outlined a future-facing policy architecture centred around innovation sandboxes, AI enablement, startup acceleration, regulatory agility, and experimentation environments designed to allow companies to iterate rapidly while remaining connected to European frameworks and institutions.
Demetris Skourides, Chief Scientist of the Republic of Cyprus, who has been actively engaging with the Indian technology and startup ecosystem since 2024, reiterated Cyprus’s ambition to emerge as a regional innovation hub and a strategic gateway into Europe for Indian enterprises. He highlighted the country’s globally competitive IP Box regime, which offers an effective tax rate as low as 3% on qualifying intellectual property income, alongside a 120% deduction on eligible R&D expenditure.
Demetris Skourides remarked, “Cyprus is building a future-ready innovation ecosystem designed for global collaboration across AI, digital transformation, and emerging technologies. With strong incentives including the 3% IP Box regime, 120% R&D deductions, startup and digital nomad visa programmes, and a focus on entrepreneurial agility and international co-creation, we aim to become a trusted gateway for companies seeking long-term growth in Europe. The arrival of global innovation ecosystems such as Plug and Play and semiconductor design firm Tenstorrent, combined with the technology sector contributing nearly 16% to Cyprus’s GDP, is a strong signal of international investor confidence in Cyprus’s innovation economy.”
Indian companies already operating from Cyprus reinforced the country’s growing reputation as an intelligent European operating base for AI firms, SaaS enterprises, startups, digital platforms, and media-tech organisations seeking global scale.
HT Labs, widely recognised for its strengths across product engineering, artificial intelligence, consumer technology ecosystems, digital platforms, recommendation systems, content intelligence, and large-scale media-tech innovation, shared perspectives on the future of AI-led infrastructure and scalable technology systems.
HT Media Group Co-Founder and CEO Avinash Mudaliar’s participation drew particular interest owing to his long-standing experience across product, media, technology, and consumer internet businesses.
Speaking during the engagement, Mudaliar observed, “Cyprus is fast emerging as a strategic innovation bridge connecting India to Europe. What distinguishes the country is its ability to combine European market access with agile policymaking, startup-friendly thinking, and a deeply collaborative innovation ecosystem. The passion, consistency, and commitment exhibited by Cyprus towards building future-facing technology infrastructure is extraordinary. For Indian businesses seeking global scale in AI, media-tech, and digital infrastructure, Cyprus presents a compelling opportunity.” Fiinews.com
