Averoff: The economy is going "better than the most optimistic forecasts"

The assessment that the Cypriot economy is doing "better and more than the most optimistic forecasts", was expressed by the President of DISY Averof Neophytou after a meeting he had today with the Governor of the Central Bank Konstantinos Herodotou, at the offices of the Central Bank.

In his statements after the meeting, Mr. Neophytou initially noted that the stability of a country depends on the course of the economy, which he discussed today, as well as the course of the financial system, with the Governor of the Central Bank. He noted that the two go hand in hand and that there can be no strong economy without a stable and sound financial system.

Mr. Neophytou said that the economy reacted very positively from the shock of the global pandemic, noting that last year he had stated that the recession of 2020 will be followed by a strong recovery of the Cypriot economy.

"In 2020 we had a recession of 5,1%, the country's economic growth for 2021 will be at least at the same rate as last year. "This means that the measures and economic policies of the government of President Anastasiadis and the impeccable - in my opinion - manipulations of the Minister of Finance, Konstantinos Petridis, in cooperation with the Central Bank, have paid off," he said.

He added that in the midst of an unprecedented global health crisis, Cyprus was one of the few countries where Mooody΄s upgraded its credit rating by one notch. As he said, this was done with an important explanation due to the measures taken by the Central in cooperation with the Government and related to the financial sector.

"The moratorium on installments and other decisions intertwined to serve the people and the wider economy have not only paid off but also helped to upgrade the country's creditworthiness," he said, noting that many opposition parties had voted against the moratorium.

Mr. Neophytou then stated that regarding the financial sector, great care is needed as on the one hand it is necessary to protect the vulnerable groups of the population as there is a social obligation, but on the other hand we must not "shake the foundations of the country's stability" and the economy again endangering the stability of the financial sector ".

Concluding, he expressed confidence that with the cooperation of the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and political parties, the golden section will be found to keep the country on the right track.