US-Cyprus interests and goals are closely aligned, US Ambassador John Breslow said on Wednesday noting that this may be the best period of relations in the history of the two countries.
Delivering a keynote address at the Cyprus Forum, taking place in Nicosia, Breslow also said America stands ready to support Cypriots in efforts to reunify the island as a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality, consistent with relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
As regards business cooperation he said he sees ‘real opportunity’, noting however, that he also sees an opportunity to work together with the Cyprus government regarding EU regulations that have ‘serious unintended consequences for prosperity, both for the United States and Cyprus’.
Breslow said that relations between the two countries are at ‘an all-time high’. ‘This represents an opportunity for us to break new ground and to think about what we can achieve over the long term’, he said.
Referring to the 2018, joint statement of intent signed under President Trump’s leadership, he said it opened a new area of defence and energy cooperation. The passage of the 2019 Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act deepened those ties further, he added, noting that, in recent years, the new countries have opened new areas of cooperation.
He also said that the 2024 Strategic Dialogue codifies cooperation across security, education, trade, and space. ‘Our roadmap for bilateral defense cooperation, signed in September 2024, and the commencement of Cyprus’ first-ever foreign military sales case, mean our militaries are more interoperable than ever before’, he added.
The Ambassador said that President Trump and Secretary Rubio have outlined a vision of how the US foreign policy can best advance America’s national interest. ‘I think we are doing well in this effort here in Cyprus because many of our interests and goals are so closely aligned’, he said, noting he was ‘grateful to arrive at what may be the best period of relations in the history of our two countries’. ‘Cyprus has also benefited from our collective work together’, he added.
Referring to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the USA, Breslow said Cypriots understand history ‘perhaps better than the citizens of any nation I’ve encountered’.
‘This country has survived division and loss only to emerge stronger, more prosperous, and carrying an enduring hope for a reunified future’, he said.
On the Cyprus issue, he said, ‘our position remains steadfast. The United States continues to support a Cypriot-led, UN-facilitated effort to reunify the island as a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality for all Cyprus, consistent with relevant UN Security Council resolutions’. This is a Cypriot solution for the Cypriot people, and America stands ready to support you in reaching it, he added.
On business, Breslow referred to his background on ‘building businesses and serving the public’ and said he looks forward to bringing that experience ‘to our shared priorities’. ‘I see real opportunity here’, he said, adding that trade and investment increases prosperity for both nations. He expressed the belief that American companies and technology can be a powerful growth partner for Cyprus in energy, in security, and in innovation.
Cyprus, he said, ‘is an attractive place to invest’. ‘However, I am concerned about the opportunities not taken. Even one company that walks away due to unnecessary barriers is one too many, potentially leaving hundreds of million dollars on the table’, Breslow said.
‘Together, we should work to optimize bureaucratic processes and cut red tape, creating the certainty that American, international, and Cypriot companies need to make generational investments’, he added.
‘We encourage Cyprus to keep making its markets more hospitable to business and to keep supporting American companies that are already present and investing on the island, some of them for decades’, he said. He also called on the Republic of Cyprus ‘to be brave and push back on regulations that impede innovation and the kind of risk-taking that help economies grow’.
He said that President Nikos Christodoulides ‘did important work putting EU regulatory simplification on the agenda’ during Cyprus’ recent Presidency of the EU Council. ‘I see an opportunity to work together here because many of these regulations have serious unintended consequences for prosperity, both for the United States and Cyprus’, he said. These, he said, include EU methane regulations, the EU deforestation regulations, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms, and restrictions in the Industrial Accelerator Act and the multi-annual financial framework ‘that harm partnerships with U.S. industries’.
‘Too often, important decisions sit on the desks of bureaucrats for weeks and even months. Of course, major economic decisions deserve careful review, but today’s regulatory processes are not moving at the pace of 21st century businesses’, he noted.
Processes need to be simplified and streamlined because investors and companies value transparency and predictability from the markets in which they operate, he also said, adding that cutting red tape to enable that to happen ‘is one of my highest priorities’.
Breslow also said that American companies have also played ‘a crucial role’ in strengthening this relationship with many success stories. He referred to the partnership between GE Aerospace and Cyprus’ UAMCO, noting that it has made the island a genuine aviation hub, while that companies such as Plug and Play and Tenstorrent ‘are already following that lead into Cyprus’ growing technology sector’. The development of Limassol as a tech hub has attracted a lot of attention as well, he said.
‘I think we can look forward to further investments in technology of tomorrow. And we are all proud to see Cyprus’ offshore natural gas reserves moving forward production, thanks to partnerships with Chevron and Exxon and others’, the Ambassador said. Energy security, he added, is national security. He said that Cyprus’ emergence as an energy producer would decrease dependency on troublesome suppliers and strengthen both this country and the wider region.
He noted that the strategic dialogue had also strong cultural and educational aspects as well, including commitments to strengthen English language education on the island and invest in education exchange. ‘If there’s one lesson I’ve learned in business and in life, it’s that you don’t build something that lasts by only looking at your end results. You build it by investing in people’, he said. This year, he added, ‘thanks to a landmark investment from the Republic of Cyprus Ministry of Education, we welcomed the largest cohort of Fulbright English teaching assistants in the program’s history’, who are now working in classrooms across the Republic of Cyprus in partnership with public schools and teachers, ‘enriching English language teaching and inspiring young minds to want to learn more about America and culture of the world’.
He also said they ‘greatly expanded’ exchange programs with professionals this year, connecting rising Cyprus leaders directly with their American counterparts.
Breslow invited participants to ‘think about how we might help young Cypriot professionals find internships at innovative American companies working in Cyprus and take advantage of those education opportunities that are available’. ‘I know there are a lot of great ideas out there about how the private sector can be involved in this kind of investment’, he said, noting that this was ‘exactly the kind of investment’ he believes in.
‘I’m talking about a smart, efficient partnership between government and industry that builds relationships, skills, and friendships and will shape the bilateral relationship for the next five years, but the next 50 years. Education is the foundation between everything we’ve discussed today. Our security cooperation, our economic ties, our shared purpose’, he concluded.