Mr. Siarlis' briefing to the Parliamentary Audit Committee on the whole issue provoked criticism from the members of the Committee, with its chairman talking about investments that proved to be "fumaroles".
Informing the Audit Committee, Mr. Siarlis revealed that the President of the Republic, Dimitris Christofias, sent a letter dated April 2 asking the Emir to clarify his intentions on the whole issue, a letter which, as he said, has not yet been answered. .
"It does not appear at this stage that they have clarified the issues that were or are still pending, and the President of the Republic in a letter on April 2 asked for a clarification of the Emir's intentions and as far as I know the answer has not yet come," he said. Mr. Siarlis.
As he said, "it has become known that this particular piece opposite the Hilton may have created the problems that have been reported and not move forward." He added, however, that in consultations he had with representatives of President Christofias, "the Emir himself wants to make some investment or some investments in Cyprus."
"It may be clear from the facts that this investment will probably not go ahead for various reasons," Siarlis added, noting that at the political level, the Emir's intentions are expected to be clarified.
Answering a question, Mr. Siarlis said that the Emir had occasionally requested a list of projects that could be developed in Cyprus, adding that the Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) had sent the Emir a list of projects. "The interest came from the Emir himself from time to time," he added.
It is noted that at the beginning of the session the AKEL MP, Aristos Damianou, raised a procedural issue saying that the Committee can not be informed by the AKEL MP, Pambo Papageorgiou, who in addition to being a member of parliament, is also a member of the three-member Committee for Qatar. since the other two members of the Committee, Christos Mavrellis and Andreas Pittas, were absent from the session.
Finally, after a short meeting in camera, the Commission decided to hear a "political briefing" from the Minister without asking questions, as stated by the Chairman of the Committee, George Georgiou.
In statements after the session, the chairman of the Committee, DISY MP, George Georgiou, noted that the much-publicized, as he characterized Qatar investment "became a cursed investment which in any case, indirectly but clearly, our Minister of Finance he said today that it was not going to happen ", referring to a government of" the incompetent ".
"And to show that the Qataris did not leave without investing a single euro, they are looking for a pretext with a possible investment of some kind of vague and vague reference to justify, I reiterate their inability for development projects like the one they advertised for more than two years," he added.
Saying that the Commission will be informed soon by the three-member committee on Qatar for the reasons why the specific investment will not be made, Mr. Georgiou said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not able to mention these reasons.
He also described as "fumaroles" the presentations made two years ago and for the presentation of the model for the specific investment.
Asked about Mr. Siarlis' report that the Emir of Qatar is interested in making an investment in Cyprus, Mr. Georgiou said that "any investment of the Emir of Qatar in Cyprus will be just an investment to be seen so as not to be seen. that he simply "came, saw and departed" ".
For her part, AKEL MP Irini Charalambidou said that the issue will be discussed in more detail in another session when the other members of the three-member committee will be present.
Asked what are her conclusions from the briefing provided by the Minister of Finance, Ms. Charalambidou said that "we conclude that there is a good intention from the Emir of Qatar for investments in Cyprus and formulas must be found in order for these investments to become feasible ".
Regarding the fact that the planned investment in the plot opposite the Hilton seems to be abandoned, Ms. Charalambidou said that the government is waiting for the Emir's response to the letter of the President of the Republic.
The MP of Ecologists, George Perdikis, spoke of a "mockery" of Parliament.
"We are facing a mockery. The fact that, in fact, the competent three-member committee referred the Minister to the Minister for information is a mockery for us ". He added that "the second mockery in this story, which now has only a historical character, is who answers the question who is interested and why."
As he said, there is a recorded statement of the former Minister of Finance that the investment of Qatar in this piece was his personal suggestion to the Emir, while the President of the Republic in his interview for the internal government said that it was the Emir who wanted to make the investment in this piece.
Noting that the current Minister of Finance, Vassos Siarlis, stated today that Emir is looking for a place to invest in Cyprus and is not so interested in this piece, Mr. Perdikis concluded by saying that "finally in this government" the left does not know what does the right do ”and I doubt if the President himself knows what he does”.
Source: FILELEFTHEROS