Cyprus is stepping up its push to build international AI partnerships. Three recent developments – meetings with Australia and Kazakhstan, and an EU-funded project with Greece – show the same strategy at work: turning diplomatic ties and funding opportunities into concrete projects tied to Cyprus’ National AI Strategy 2032.
Australia: Horizon Europe Opens a New Door
Chief Scientist Demetris Skourides met Australian High Commissioner to Cyprus Emily Pugin to discuss deepening cooperation in AI, research and emerging technologies.
The timing matters: Australia is completing the domestic procedures needed to associate with Pillar II of Horizon Europe, the EU’s €93.5 billion research programme covering digital technologies, industry, space and climate.
Key points from the meeting:
- Australian researchers and organisations are expected to join Horizon Europe’s 2027 work programme from January 1, 2027.
- Discussions covered Cyprus’ National AI Strategy 2032, including potential cooperation on AI ethics and technology transfer.
- The talks build on a September 2025 visit, when Skourides met Australia’s Chief Scientist Professor Tony Haymet to discuss climate science, robotics and AI.
Skourides said “international partnerships and the exchange of expertise will be essential” as Cyprus builds out its innovation ecosystem.
Kazakhstan: From Agreements to Action
Two days earlier, Skourides met Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Cyprus, Nikolay Zhumakanov, at the Research and Innovation Foundation.
The memoranda signed during President Nikos Christodoulides’ June 2026 visit to Astana, marking Cyprus’ first presidential visit to Kazakhstan since 1992, now need to become working projects.
Key points from the meeting:
- The MoUs cover AI, ICT, e-government, space activities, cybersecurity and higher education.
- Cyprus opened its first embassy in Central Asia during the visit; a related business forum drew more than 70 representatives.
- Zhumakanov has invited Skourides to an AI conference in Kazakhstan this October.
On next steps, Skourides was direct: “The next step is to translate these commitments into practical cooperation.”
Closer to Home: A Greek-Language AI Alliance
Not every partnership runs through a foreign ministry. The Cyprus Institute’s CaSToRC research centre has secured its own EU-backed AI partnership, coordinating Pharos-CY, Cyprus’ national AI Factory Antenna.
Key points:
- Pharos-CY was selected for funding under the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking’s AI Factory Antennas call, backed jointly by EuroHPC and Cyprus’ Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy.
- The project pairs the Cyprus Institute with Greece’s national “Pharos” AI Factory to jointly build large language models and other AI tools for the Greek language.
- A consortium spanning all of Cyprus’ Centres of Excellence and both public universities gives it reach across health, energy, culture and digital governance.
Where the diplomatic talks are about opening doors, Pharos-CY shows what happens once a door like EU research funding is already open. Cypriot institutions are competing for it directly and building something concrete.
A Common Thread
Different partners, different mechanisms, same playbook. Whether through government-to-government MoUs or competitive EU funding calls, Cyprus is using outside partnerships to open doors for its universities and research institutions, then asking what comes next.
That question is becoming central to Cyprus’ National AI Strategy 2032. Skourides has framed international cooperation as essential to turning the strategy into practical outcomes, not just signed documents or funding announcements.
What’s Next
With Australia’s Horizon Europe access landing in 2027, Kazakhstan’s AI conference set for October, and Pharos-CY now building out its Greek-language AI tools, Cyprus’ AI partnerships are advancing on several fronts at once, a small state using bigger research ecosystems to punch above its weight.
