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The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics (CING) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) on Monday signed a €26m loan agreement to go towards research infrastructure, the finance minister said.

Finance minister Harris Georgiades said that the government, which is guaranteeing the loan, also pledged to increase the annual grant to the Nicosia-based CING so that the institute can meet is obligations to the EIB.

“I can’t think of a better way of investing public funds than investing in such an internationally acclaimed research, medical and education centre,” Georgiades was cited as saying in an emailed statement. “Let me remind you that two years ago, we decided to invest €216m in the research infrastructure of the University of Cyprus and secured €162m in financing from EIB”.

The chairman of the Luxembourg-based bank, Werner Hoyer, considered a likely successor of Wolfgang Schaeuble at the helm of the German ministry of finance, said that the loan agreement will ultimately help improve the quality of medical services offered by the institute.

Hoyer, who signed the agreement on behalf of EIB, said that the bank which extended €1.4bn in credit to Cyprus, pumped a total of €240m, or 1.4 per cent of the island’s economic output, in 2016 alone.

“We do recognise the tremendous efforts of the Cypriot people and the Cypriot Government in the survival of the Cyprus economy, which is indeed showing a remarkable progress,” he said according to the emailed transcript of his speech.

Georgiades thanked the EIB for its support and said that it offered a “crucial helping hand” in Cyprus’s efforts for an economic turnaround.

Source: CyprusMail