IMF revises Cyprus’ growth forecast upwards to 2.9% for 2025 and 2.8% for 2026

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects a higher growth rate for Cyprus for 2025 and 2026 in its October edition of the World Economic Outlook (WEO) compared with the estimates included in the April edition. Specifically, it projects that the growth rate will reach 2.9% of GDP in 2025 and 2.8% in 2026, compared with 2.5% for 2025 and 2.7% for 2026 in the April projections.

In addition, the IMF estimates that consumer prices will increase by only 0.7% in 2025, marking the lowest rise in the euro area, and by 1.3% in 2026. By comparison, in the April estimates, inflation was projected at 2.3% for 2025 and 2% for 2026.

Regarding the current account balance, the revised projections indicate a deficit of -8.5% in 2025 and -9.1% in 2026, higher than the April forecasts of -7.3% and -7.8%, respectively.

The unemployment forecast has also been revised downward. Unemployment is expected to reach 4.5% in 2025 and 4.7% in 2026, compared with 4.8% for 2025 and 5% for 2026 in the April projections.

The IMF reports overall improved global growth rates due to the smaller-than-expected impact of tariff impositions. Specifically, it expects global growth to slow from 3.3% in 2024 to 3.2% in 2025, and further to 3.1% in 2026. By comparison, the April estimates had projected growth at 2.8% for 2025 and 3% for 2026.

However, IMF notes that “trade policy uncertainty remains elevated in the absence of clear, transparent, and durable agreements among trading partners-and with attention starting to shift from the eventual level of tariffs to their impact on prices, investment, and consumption”.

Cyprus prioritizes new Return Regulation, Dep. Minister tells JHA

Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection Nicolas Ioannides, underlined the importance of a comprehensive Return Regulation for Cyprus and the EU said during the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council (Internal Affairs) held today, Tuesday, 14 October 2025, in Luxembourg.

In his arrival doorstep statement, Ioannides underscored the need for a comprehensive Return Regulation, which will complement the new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum and promote the effective implementation of returns for third-country nationals. He stressed the need for a balance between a stricter legal framework and the necessary flexibility for Member States that have developed effective national return programs, such as Cyprus. He added that the upcoming Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council will prioritize the implementation of the Pact and the adoption of the Return Regulation.

During the Council’s proceedings, an exchange of views took place on the draft Regulation for a common return system for third-country nationals illegally staying in the EU. According to the Deputy Minister, the proposed legislation that is currently under discussion among member states at a technical level, includes common procedures for issuing return decisions, clear rules for forced returns, stricter timelines, and stronger obligations for returnees to cooperate with national authorities.

According to diplomatic sources, the compromise proposal from the Danish Presidency of the Council which is currently on the table, includes the reduction or removal of administratively burdensome provisions, such as making the use of a European Return Order optional for member states. It also relaxes requirements for agreements with third countries regarding return hubs. Additionally, it provides for the possibility to impose longer entry bans, as well as indefinite entry bans for individuals posing a threat to public order or national security.

Furthermore, EU member states are negotiating a legal basis for searches, seizures, and the collection of biometric data without the consent of the third-country national, as well as the possibility for the EU countries to refrain from applying the Regulation to third-country nationals expelled for serious criminal offenses or threats to public order or national security.

During the working lunch, the discussion focused on the external dimension of migration, particularly returns to Syria. In his intervention, the Deputy Minister noted that, although conditions in Syria remain partially unstable, there has been relative improvement that could facilitate both voluntary and forced returns. He pointed out that, to date, contact with Syrian authorities on migration issues has been limited and is conducted mainly through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with a focus on supporting the Syrian people and the country’s gradual reintegration into the international community, in full respect of international law, including the law of the sea, and the principles of good neighborliness.

Regarding forced returns of Syrian nationals without the right to stay, Ioannides stated that the Republic of Cyprus supports such returns, especially for individuals who pose a serious threat to public order or national security or are convicted criminals, under the strict condition of compliance with international and EU law and the existence of appropriate safeguards. He stressed that the main prerequisites for the effective implementation of returns are linked to the actual conditions on the ground-security, infrastructure, basic services, and livelihood opportunities-as well as the need to build reliable communication channels with Syrian authorities.

Finally, he highlighted the decisive role of international organizations. In this context, he referred to the first voluntary repatriation flight organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) from Libya to Syria on 8 October, which, as he said, demonstrated the potential for broader and more structured returns. Cyprus, already having a successful Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) program, supports the scaling up and expansion of such initiatives as confidence-building measures and safe return channels.

The Deputy Minister held a series of meetings with his counterparts on the sidelines of the Council, in the context of preparing for Cyprus’s assumption of the EU Council Presidency in January 2026. He briefed his counterparts on Cyprus’s priorities, meeting with Anneleen Van Bossuyt, Belgian Minister for Migration, Asylum, and Social Integration; Beat Jans, Swiss Federal Councillor and Minister of Justice and Police; Bence Rétvári, Hungarian Deputy Minister of the Interior; David van Weel, Dutch Minister for Foreign Affairs, Asylum, and Migration; Johan Forssell, Swedish Minister for Migration; Mari Rantanen, Finnish Minister of the Interior; and Thanasis Plevris, Greek Minister for Migration and Asylum.

Ioannides underlines need for agreement on Return Regulation at JHA Council

Cyprus’ Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection, Nicholas Ioannides, underlined on Tuesday the need for agreement on the Return Regulation during today’s Justice and Home Affairs Council. Arriving at the meeting in Luxembourg, he stated that all member states “agree that we need the Return Regulation”, while also underlining the necessity for an effective and balanced approach.

“This is another important meeting where we will discuss an array of crucial matters. Emphasis will be placed on returns to Syria and negotiations with respect to the Return Regulation,” Ioannides stressed.

“As regards Syria, Cyprus has been facilitating voluntary returns of Syrian nationals,” he said. As of December 2024, he added, “around 4,000 Syrian nationals have left Cyprus and returned to Syria.”

“At the same time, we support the return of third country nationals, including Syrians, that pose a threat to national security and public order,” he noted.

The Deputy Minister placed particular emphasis on the importance of a comprehensive Return Regulation. “This instrument will complement the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, and advance the effective carrying out of third country nationals’ return. It is our aim to strike a balance between the need for a more stringent legal regime and flexibility for those member states, like Cyprus, that have developed an effective national return programme,” he noted.

Regarding the upcoming Cypriot Presidency, Ioannides said that the country “will prioritise the implementation of the Pact and the adoption of the Return Regulation.”

Tuesday’s Council in Luxembourg marks the first high-level political debate on the new Common European System for Returns, and the 27 must tackle the thorny issue of how to ensure that people cannot simply move to another European country if they fail to secure a visa or apply for asylum.

In response to a question about the remaining disagreements surrounding the Return Regulation and how to overcome these divisions, including mutual recognition, Ioannides replied that «of course we’re aware of the partial disagreements.”

I think, he pointed out, “that everybody agrees that we need this regulation. We agree on the gist of the regulation.”

So, he added, “we are ready to discuss some different formulas in order to overcome any obstacles, any disagreements. But I’m optimistic that we’ll manage to move forward with the regulation.”

The remaining items on the agenda for the Ministers of Migration and Home Affairs include migration, border security, and internal security.

On the margins of the Council, the Deputy Minister will hold bilateral meetings with counterparts from various member states to exchange views on issues of common interest.

President says he discussed Cyprus problem with President Trump at Sharm El-Sheikh

President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides has said that he discussed the Cyprus problem with US President Donald Trump, on the sidelines of the Gaza Peace Summit in Sharm El Sheikh that took place on Monday.

Invited Tuesday by journalists to say what he has discussed with the US President during their brief meeting, President Christodoulides said that ‘all I can say is that the issue that was discussed is the Cyprus problem.’

The President, who was arriving at the Conference of the Academy of the Law Office, in Nicosia, was asked about the participation of the Republic of Cyprus in the Gaza Peace Summit held yesterday in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. He said that despite the fact that there were some who did not want the Republic of Cyprus to be present at the Summit, “we were invited by both the US President and the President of Egypt”. It is important, he said, “that we were very specific, as we did in October 2023, in Paris, when we first presented the ‘Amalthea’ initiative'”, the sea corridor for humanitarian aid from Cyprus to Gaza.

Yesterday, he added, Cyprus presented at the Peace Summit a specific plan, which is in progress, with six initiatives that the Republic of Cyprus can undertake, in the areas of security, reconstruction and humanitarian aid, based on President Trump’s 20-point plan.

President Christodoulides said that this proposal has been discussed during the previous days in telephone communications that he held, in particular with the President of the European Commission. The document, he continued, which is under development, has been sent to the European Commission, the EU Member States, the US and the interested parties adding that “now is the time to work so that what has been agreed in the first stage of the Trump plan is implemented, and we can move on to the second stage.”

“It is important, especially for us, as a country in the region with excellent relations with all neighboring states, we are the EU member state in the region and the state affected by developments, to do everything possible, always within our capabilities, so that what was agreed upon is implemented.” he underlined.

Usurpation of Greek Cypriot properties

Meanwhile, invited to comment on the fact that Simon Aykut, who is accused for usurpation of Greek Cypriot properties in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus, pleaded yesterday -before a Cypriot court -guilty to 40 charges, the President of the Republic clarified at first that he does not interfere in matters of the judiciary.

Beyond that, he continued, this admission proves “the correctness of the Government’s policy, a policy that should had been followed for many years now.”

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

Strong fighting chance in Bahrain AYG-Tolentino

THE 141-strong Philippine delegation carries a big fighting chance when it plunges into action in the Third Asian Youth Games set October 22 to 31 in Manama, Bahrain.

‘We’ll train and do our best to get a medal,’ said boxer Leo Mhar Lobrido, one of two of the country’s flag bearers in the 10-day, 45-country quadrennial meet during the national team’s photo shoot on Monday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Lobrido, a Bago City (Negros Occidental) native who turned 16 only last Friday, is one the nation’s top bet for a medal, most probably a gold, being a decorated internationalist after having won in the Fourth Greater Area Bay Youth Boxing Challenge Shenzhen, China, late last year.

High school volleyball star Harlene Serneche, the other Filipino flag-bearer, is also optimistic that they will make the country proud.

‘We have potential and hopefully we’ll be competitive there,’ said the 18-year-old incoming National University freshman also during the photo shoot that featured 30 athletes to rally support for the delegation led by Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino and the organization’s partners Avel Bacudio, Milo and Oishi.

‘Yes, this team has a strong fighting chance,’ said Tolentino, adding the goal is to match or surpass the gold medals won by taekwondo’s Pauline Lopez and golfer Mia Legaspi-along with three silver medals-in the games’ last edition in 2013 in Nanjing, China.

Also in the photo shoot wearing classic uniforms designed by renowned Avel Bacudio were Pi Durden Wangkay and Lorainne Batalla (athletics), Jan Brix Ramiscal (Muay), siblings Charlie and Travis Ratcliff (MMA) and Rhose Alemndralejo (volleyball).

The volleyball team is composed of National University’s high school squad plus its talented new recruit Rhose Almendralejo, an 11th grader from Tay Tung High School in Bacolod City.

‘It’s a big pressure for me because this is only the second time I’m competing outside the country,’ Almendralejo said. ‘I hope to help the team and do well.’

Volleyball president Ramon ‘Tats’ is the chef de mission of the Philippine team that will vie in 18 of the 26 sports in the Manama program.

These are volleyball, teqball, golf, triathlon, mixed martial arts, taekwondo, muay, athletics, boxing, cycling, weightlifting, table tennis, badminton, wrestling, aquatics, jiu-jitsu, kurash and pencak silat.

Tolentino said that Bahrain is ready to host 4,250 athletes, 900 team and technical officials and 700 coaches in the games.

Palace vows to cleanse 2026 national budget of ‘unconstitutional pork’

Following the third and final reading of the P6.793-trillion General Appropriation Bill at the House of Representatives last Monday, Malacañang vowed to cleanse the 2026 national budget of any illegal provisions, including ‘unconstitutional pork.’

It noted that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) will initiate an extensive review of the proposed national budget next year as soon as the Senate also completes its counterpart GAB.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro made the assurance after lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc from the House expressed concern that the GAB still contained P243-billion worth of unprogrammed appropriations, which they consider as ‘presidential pork.’

For his part, Caloocan Rep. Edgard R. Erice said the unprogrammed appropriations may have violated the provisions of the constitution due to its supposed lack of funding source.

In 2013, the Supreme Court issued the landmark ruling on Belgica vs Ochoa, where it declared that the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel during the administration of former President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III as unconstitutional for granting lawmakers discretion in the use of public funds.

Citing the DBM, Castro noted that the unprogrammed funds are not the same pork barrel since it is not discretionary.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) defines unprogrammed appropriations as funds, which can be used with the necessary approval, for priority programs or projects and be sourced from excess government revenue collections or grants or foreign funds.

‘So let’s remember, even though this is in the unprogrammed appropriations, this budget will be protected and will not be released immediately so that they will be afraid [of misusing it] and say it will just be a pork barrel,’ she added. Castro said.

Last week, the Palace official said the government cannot phaseout unprogrammed funds as demanded by some lawmakers since it is used by the government for its emergency response.

Castro said the DBM will ensure that all provisions of the proposed 2026 budget will be aligned with the priorities of the administration.

In his fourth State of the Nation Address last July, Marcos said he is ready to veto the national budget next year if it will not be aligned with the said priorities.

‘We will ask the President himself regarding such an issue, as well as the DBM,’ Castro said.

‘If there is something that really doesn’t match the wishes of this administration, it will probably veto whatever needs to be vetoed,’ she added. (Samuel Medenilla)

54 Pasig families get units in new NHA project

ABOUT 54 families in Pasig City received Certificates of Unit Allocation (CUAs) from the National Housing Authority (NHA) during the inauguration of the Manggahan Residences Phase 3B in Barangay Sta. Lucia.

The project, located along the East Bankment area, is part of the NHA’s ongoing resettlement program for informal settler families living along the Manggahan Floodway and other high-risk zones in the city.

NHA general manager Joeben Tai said construction of the remaining buildings will be fast-tracked to provide more families with safe and quality housing.

‘This is just the beginning. Rest assured that we will complete the construction of these residential buildings as soon as possible so that all our qualified beneficiaries can move into their safe and quality new homes,’ Tai said in Filipino.

Phase 3B is the first of seven planned residential buildings under the Manggahan Residences expansion. The newly completed structure covers a 1,450-square-meter area, with each housing unit measuring about 24 square meters.

Beneficiaries were identified through a series of validation processes conducted by the NHA, Local Inter-Agency Committee and Beneficiary Selection, Awards and Arbitration Committee meetings since 2018.

The Manggahan Residences Phase 3 project was launched with a groundbreaking ceremony on August 8.

It is located adjacent to the completed Phase 1 and Phase 2 buildings and can be accessed via Eastbank Road and the Ortigas Avenue Extension.

GUYANA-ENERGY-ExxonMobil says US legislators may have been misled on tax issues

President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge, says he believes that three United States legislators had been misled when thy wrote to the US oil and gas giant regarding information on how its payments to the Guyana government regarding the 2016 Stabroek Block Petroleum Agreement (PA), have affected its US federal tax liability.

In their lengthy correspondence last month, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Jeff Merkley, of Oregon, said that after ExxonMobil discovered nearly 11 billion barrels of oil off the coast Guyana, the company signed a PA with the Guyana government.

‘Since the initial Liza oil discovery in 2015, Guyana, a former climate leader, has embraced oil as a route to prosperity, even as sea level rise could claim its capital, Georgetown, by 2030.’

The letter noted that ExxonMobil partnered with a Chinese state-owned oil company, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), and the US company Hess, now owned by Chevron, which together pump around 900,000 barrels of oil a day.

‘Guyana now has the world’s highest expected oil production growth through 2035, despite elevated sea levels and other harms to forest ecosystems and local communities,’ they wrote, saying that the PA, which was only made public after significant public pressure on the Guyana government ‘stipulates that ExxonMobil can pocket 75 per cent of the value of oil produced and sold until it has recouped its recoverable contract costs.

They wrote, submitting seven questions for answers regarding ‘how the 2016 PA with the Government of Guyana has affected ExxonMobil’s U.S. federal tax liability by no later than October 23, 2025’.

But Routledge told reporters that ‘it would appear that OGGN, perhaps, misled the senators somewhat’.

He said in ExxonMobil Corporation’s 2023 and 2024 tax filings, there were no Guyanese tax credits included in either of those filings, ‘and you would recall that prior to 2023, we were not making profits here in Guyana, so there were no tax credits from that. Up until this point, there have been no Guyana tax credits used by ExxonMobil’.

Routledge said that ExxonMobil Guyana is still operating with a negative cash flow of around six billion US dollars.

‘We continue to be actually cash flow negative on an accumulative basis. we are probably still around six billion US dollars in negative cash flow as we look at the cumulative expenditures and cumulative revenues that we’ve seen from the Stabroek Block,’ he told reporters.

Meanwhile, Routledge says Guyana’s gas will most likely not be converted to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for export but would be used to fuel the country’s several other growth areas,, even as ExxonMobil prepares to eventually develop its first non-associated gas field here.

He was asked whether the ‘several trillion cubic feet’ of non-associated natural gas at Longtail in the Stabroek Block would be converted into LNG, but Routledge told reporters that some of it would be pumped into power generation, data centers, and an alumina plant, all aimed at boosting Guyana’s growth.

He noted that in the area of liquefying the natural gas, ‘we continue to hold that as an option’ but the focus is on firing up some of those projects that the government has set its eyes on.

The company hopes to complete its environmental impact studies towards the end of 2026 and eventually present its Longtail field development plan (FDP) to the Guyana government. After a final investment decision (FID) is made and the project is developed, Routledge said the priority would be to produce condensate (liquids associated with natural gas) for export globally in a manner similar to crude.

‘What we’ve been working with the government on is to prioritize availability of gas and supply of gas onshore into the country where it would have the highest value to the country,’ he said.

He said some of the gas would be used to reinject into the wells to produce the condensate, and it would not be until another 10 to 15 years after Longtail’s condensate production begins that natural gas would be extracted.

‘Initially, we will reinject all, or almost all of that gas. What we don’t use as fuel on the facility, into the reservoirs to ensure that we recover as much of the liquids, particularly in those fields, to condensate, as we possibly can,’ he said.

GRENADA-SECURITY-Former senate president wants legislators to debate US request to install radar at airport

The former president of the Senate, Chester Humphrey, says the Grenada government should convene a sitting of the Parliament to debate a request by the United States install radar equipment and associated technical personnel at the Maurice Bishop International Airport (MBIA) here.

Humphrey, who has already indicated that he would be willing to lead a peace protest against Washington’s request, told a television progrmme here on Monday night that he is of the opinion that legislators should play a role in the decision process of the Dickon Mitchell government.

‘I think it’s important to convene a sitting of parliament on this before the government makes any commitment to the Americans one way or the other. Parliament needs to meet on this matter,’ said the veteran trade unionist, adding that the matter should not be used to score political points.

‘Secondly, I don’t think this is an opportunity for scoring political points, I think we have to support the government,’ said Humphrey who served as the Labour Movement representative in the Upper House for more than two decades and served as the President General of the Grenada Technical and Allied Workers Union for 26 years.

Last week, the Grenada government acknowledged that it had received a request for the temporary installation of radar equipment and associated technical personnel at the Maurice Bishop International Airport from the United State government.

‘The Ministries of National Security, Legal Affairs and Foreign Affairs are carefully assessing the request and reviewing the request in technical consultations, in coordination with the Grenada airports Authority and other relevant agencies,’ the Mitchell government said, adding that it is carefully reviewing the request in accordance with established national procedures.

‘Any decisions will be made only after all technical and legal assessments are completed. We wish to assure our citizens that any decision taken will be guided by Grenada’s sovereignty, public safety, and national interest, including the protection of our tourism industry, the traveling public, and the country’s economic well-being,’ the government said, adding it would continue to keep the public informed as developments unfold.

Also appearing on the television programme was political scientist Dr. Ivelaw Griffith, a former professor of political science and provost and senior vice president at York College of The City University of New York.

‘I think it is incumbent on the government to act now by having not only consultations with the appropriate constituencies within Grenada but also be mindful of the broader geopolitical intercourse that this might involve and extend the consultations beyond the Caribbean,’ said Griffith, who has been a consultant to Canada’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and other agencies, and has testified before the United States Congress on Caribbean security issues.

‘Some CARICOM (Caribbean Community) leaders are silent on this matter for two reasons, they don’t want to voice their views, especially if that view is against United States approach. They may be so disinclined because of the very United States new approach to dealing with them in relation to the Cuban workers issue in relation to visas that may be revoked or threatened the revocation including Grenada where the threat against one minister was there.

‘There may be concerns in regard to return of people from their nations and requests to support people from non Caribbean nations in their place. So, there are a number of other reasons why some Caribbean leaders may want to take the reticent approach,’ said Griffith, the Guyana-born scholar, who received the 2015 William J. Perry Award for Excellence in Security and Defense Education.

10th ID hard at work in HADR missions in Davao Region

The Philippine Army (PA) on Tuesday said troopers from its 10th Infantry Division (ID) are helping the government with its ongoing humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) efforts in the quake-battered Davao Region.

‘Troops from 10ID’s brigades and battalions, including CAFGU Active Auxiliaries, have been deployed to Davao Oriental, Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, and parts of Agusan del Sur to assist local disaster risk reduction and management offices in search, rescue, relief, and clearing operations; evacuation of patients; and providing support to hospital staff,’ PA spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala said in a statement.

In particular, troops of the 66th Infantry Battalion worked hand in hand with partner agencies in the nighttime distribution of relief packs to families affected by the tremors.

Dema-ala added that Army HADR, in light of the threat of continued earthquakes, are closely coordinating with the Office of Civil Defense Region 11, local government units, and other government agencies to ensure the safety, immediate relief, and rehabilitation of affected communities.