TRNC News Today 9^th October 2015

Negotiators met again

Turkish Cypriot negotiator Özdil Nami and Greek Cypriot negotiator Andreas Mavroyiannis met yesterday and carried out preparatory work ahead of the planned leaders’ meeting which will be held on Monday.

According to information received from the Presidential spokesperson Barış Burcu, the negotiators made studies for intensifying the negotiation process not only on the level of leaders but also on the level of negotiators.

Stating that the negotiators had agreed on both the overall scope of the negotiations and speeding up the works that contribute to the Turkish Cypriots’ preparation process for the EU, Burcu said that studies have been started in this direction.

Presidential spokesperson Barış Burcu also stated that the negotiators and the representatives of the Turkish and Greek Cypriot telephone operator companies will have a meeting this afternoon in order to overcome the issue related to telephone communication.

Bielefeldt: “Cyprus, a model for the Middle East”

Cyprus is a religious “model” for the broader region of the Middle East since huge progress has been achieved on the island to build trust between the different religious communities, said the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion Heiner Bielefeldt.

Bielefeldt stated that with this aim, a new institution under the name “The Cyprus Inter-religious Platform for Human Rights” has been established.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, at the Home for Cooperation, which was attended by religious leaders, Bielefeldt.said: “Communication helps to overcome prejudices, prevent negative stereotypes and rebuild trust in societies”.

Bielefeldt also stressed that the time is suitable to develop the dialogue.

10 thousand Euros consultancy support from the European Development Bank to SMEs

Cyprus Turkish Chamber of Industry announced that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development would provide up to 10 thousand Euros grant to SMEs for purchasing consulting services with the intention of determining the needs and ensuring the increase in the performances of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development organized an information meeting about the grant program for North Cyprus at the Cyprus Turkish Chamber of Industry.

According to the statement made by the Cyprus Turkish Chamber of Industry, the grant rate will correspond to 75% of the total service cost. There is no time or sector restriction for the request of the consulting services.

Topics for requesting consulting services are as the following:

“Branding support, document management systems, online marketing, strategic planning -business plan, feasibility study, market research – marketing strategy, sales management, innovation, operations, supply chain management, sector-specific technology – computer aided manufacturing system, IT infrastructure – software development – web site, company management systems, engineering solutions, quality management systems ISO – financial management infrastructure and systems, energy efficiency and environmental institutionalization – organizational structure, human resources, occupational health and safety.”

The criteria for applying to the grant program for SMEs are as follows;

Having not more than 250 employees and a maximum of 50 million Euros turnover, being registered in the Registrar of the Companies and being in a good financial position.

Assembly to gather for the Presidency Council election

TRNC Assembly internal regulation proposal was approved by a majority vote during yesterday’s session of the General Council of the TRNC Assembly.

According to the internal regulation of the General Council of the TRNC Assembly, Presidency Council elections should be held within 10 days after the beginning of the new legislative year. The Assembly gathered with the election agenda today. During the meeting, elections were held for the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, clerks and administrators and CTP-BG Lefkoşa Deputy Sibel Siber has been re-elected as the Speaker of the Assembly.

Sibel Siber who is nominated by the CTP-BG group obtained 32 acceptance, 6 reject, 1 abstaining and 1 blank vote from 40 parliamentarians as a result of the secret ballot held at the extraordinary meeting of the Assembly which has 50 parliamentarians.

Prestigious Award to Vamık Volkan

The “Psychoanalysis Mary Sigourney Award” which is given to the important studies in the field of psychoanalysis in the world was given to the world-famous Turkish Cypriot psychiatrist Professor Vamık Volkan.

The award has been given to 2-4 individuals and/or organizations that made significant contributions and generated new interest and activity in psychoanalysis and related disciplines every year since 1989. This year two persons have been granted the award.

Volkan is expected to receive his award in New York, in January 2016.

Volkan has been awarded due to his studies in the field of using psychoanalytic thinking to understand conflicts between countries and cultures, and in addition, studies in adding primitive object relations theory to clinical discoveries to understand severe personality disorders. (Kıbrıs Newspaper)

Economic crisis caused migration of 5,331 Greek Cypriots

It was stated that the economic crisis caused the migration of 5,331 Greek Cypriots between the years of 2009-2013. Greek Cypriot daily Fileleftheros reported that according to a research conducted by ‘Nicosia University’ in South Cyprus, as a result of the economic crisis, unemployment has increased, salaries have decreased, number of divorces has increased and due to all these reasons, thousands of Greek Cypriots migrated.