The agreement aims to enhance education and training in the field of hydrocarbons to cover posts that will be created from the exploitation of the island’s natural wealth, as well as for research.

“Hydrocarbons are a blessing for Cyprus and will be a part of our lives for the next 100 years,” said University of Nicosia board chairman Nicos Peristianis.

He added that the sector will create several thousand jobs and that energy is most important in all aspects of life, while green development is something that has become part of our everyday life.

He also said that the two institutes will benefit greatly not only through knowledge transfer but also through research.

MIHT’s general manager Theodoros Efthimiou said that the discovery of hydrocarbons in the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone and the effort for their exploitation found the government but also the business and educational communities unprepared.

“If initiatives are not taken for training, research, consultancy services and the import of technology, we will never benefit from the discovery of hydrocarbons,” Efthimiou said.

He said that MIHT has set as a priority to forge cooperation with local and foreign universities and higher education institutes because they believe that acquisition of knowledge and a technology culture on hydrocarbons must begin through the educational system.

The head of the centre for Green Development and Energy Policy at the University of Nicosia, Marios Valiantis, stressed the need for the proper management of Cyprus’s resources in order to minimise environmental consequences.

He also said that the protection of the environment is as important as the existence and the rational utilisation of the mineral wealth of a country.

Source: Cyprus Mail