Greece-Cyprus energy talks
Greece will maintain strategic oil reserves on behalf of Cyprus, according to an agreement initialed by Development Minister Akis Tsochadzopoulos and his Cypriot Commerce, Industry and Tourism counterpart Giorgos Lillikas in Nicosia yesterday. A statement issued in Athens said the agreement provides for Cyprus’s strategic oil reserves to be kept at the storage installations of state-controlled Hellenic Petroleum (ELPE) in the Attica region, according to European Union directives, and will be made available to the government of Cyprus whenever requested. The volume of the reserves will be determined in a technical study now in the preparation stage which will also determine the cost of storage. The two sides also agreed to explore possibilities for a common strategy in tourism that could materialize in joint advertizing and the sales of packages and cruises. Further, Nicosia asked Athens’s help in the introduction of natural gas to the island’s economy and the two agreed to cooperate on a plan for the development of renewable energy sources on Cyprus.
