TRNC News 2.5.2017 Özgürgün: Economy “significantly improved despite political uncertainty”

Prime Minister Özgürgün: Economy “significantly improved, despite political uncertainty”

Prime Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek and Economy and Energy Minister Sunat Atun gave a speech at the opening of the conference entitled “Conference on Economic Developments and Expectations in the World, Turkey and the TRNC”, which was organised by the Final International University (FIU) with the cooperation of the TRNC Central Bank and the Cyprus Turkish Economic Association.

In his speech, Prime Minister Özgürgün stated that the Cyprus issue has had a great impact on the configuration of the TRNC’s economy, and added that economic embargos and isolations have negatively affected the economy. Özgürgün said that the service sector is at the forefront of the Cyprus economy, but that the incomplete Cyprus negotiations, which have been ongoing since 1968, and the uncertainty surrounding the talks, has negatively affected the economy.

Stating that the negotiation process has been wounded due to the Enosis decision of the Greek Cypriot Parliament, Özgürgün said that the Turkish Cypriot side organises its economy in accordance with the negotiation process. Özgürgün also noted that as the uncertainty in the Cyprus problem continues, economic development would be limited in the TRNC.

Prime Minister Özgürgün emphasized that the TRNC economy has developed significantly over the years, despite the political conjuncture, and emphasized that considerable progress has been made in the education, health, tourism and agricultural sectors.

In his speech, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek stated that although the embargos, political situation, and the statue of the TRNC constitute a problem, positive developments have been made in developing the TRNC economy. Şimşek emphasized that Turkey has always supported the TRNC in every field, and that this support will continue. Şimşek also mentioned the importance of reforms, saying, “If you make reforms, other countries come for investment as well.”

Şimşek also noted that a solution in Cyprus would be supported by Turkey.

In his speech, Economy and Energy Minister Sunat Atun stated that the TRNC was affected both directly and indirectly from the global economic crisis in 2008. Minister Atun said that the USA’s strict monetary policies have impacted developing countries. He stressed that the TRNC’s economic slowdown in 2013-2015 was caused by economic protocol not being signed, however reforms have been accelerated since 2015, which have brought the economy to good standards.

Leaders meet today

President Mustafa Akıncı and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades met again earlier today, within the framework of the ongoing Cyprus negotiation process. The meeting was held at the buffer zone.

Cohen to hold meetings in Cyprus

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Jonathan Cohen will hold meetings in Cyprus.

It is expected that within the framework of his visit, Cohen will attend meetings with President Mustafa Akıncı and the Greek Cypriot Leader Nikos Anastasiades.

Members of the Committee of Missing Persons to hold meetings in New York

Members of the Committee of Missing Persons, who continue their efforts to discover, identify and deliver the remains of people who went missing in Cyprus between 1963 and 1974, will hold meetings in New York on the 8th and 9th of May. They are due to meet UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres during their visit, on the 9th of May.

According to Turkish Cypriot Member of the Committee, Gülden Plümer Küçük, the UN archives are already under examination as part of the committee’s project for “the exhumation, identification and return of the remains of missing persons”.

Küçük stated that the third member of the CMP in the Archives Working Group, Paul-Henri Arni, and two officers of the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot contingent are studying the UN archives in New York. He added that the purpose of their visit to New York was to utilize the UN archives in the context of their project, and to hold a meeting with Guterres.

Küçük also said that the Committee had received a positive response from Turkey, Greece, the UK and other forces operating under the UN and the Red Cross to examine their archives in the hope of finding any information which may assist in the discovery and identification of the remains of missing persons.

Festival of North Cyprus this week to “bring the TRNC to the UK”

The Festival of North Cyprus will be held in London this week between the dates of 5-6 May.

The festival will be held with the support of the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, and under the organisation of North Cyprus UK Limited, at London’s most prestigious exhibition centre, the Business Design Centre in Islington. The slogan of the festival will be, “We are moving TRNC to London”.

In his interview for the Cyprus newspaper, Minister of Tourism and Environment Fikri Ataoğlu said that the ministry has implemented numerous initiatives in cities around the world in order to promote the TRNC. Ataoğlu also stated that their aim is to promote the TRNC, and to encourage third and fourth generations living in London to visit the TRNC on holiday, rather than going to other destinations