05.03.2021 Nicosia / TRNC
The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu participated in the roundtable attended by Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan and TRNC Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Energy Erhan Arıklı.
Hisarcıklıoğlu
expressed satisfaction with the “2021 Economic and Financial Co-operation
Agreement between Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” signed
earlier this week.
Hisarcıklıoğlu
stated that as TOBB, they see Northern Cyprus as their pupil, and that they
have been working with their partners in Cyprus for a long time and that they
can group their work into four main headings.
Hisarcıklıoğlu
stressed that the economy of Northern Cyprus should be able to stand on its own
two feet. “For this, it needs a strong private sector. We have been working
with the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce and the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of
Industry for a long time to develop the private sector. The Turkey-TRNC Chamber
of Commerce Forum, established with the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce,
works to improve bilateral trade and investment relations. Even in the
conditions of the pandemic, it continued work successfully. On the development
of bilateral trade and investment opportunities, a detailed report was prepared
by TEPAV.”
Stating
that Northern Cyprus has to be the best in the world as an investment
environment, Hisarciklıoğlu said: “Currently, it is very successful in the
field of education and tourism. With the water supply project from Turkey,
Northern Cyprus will soon become an important production base in agriculture.
We have been working with the President and Governments of Northern Cyprus on
improving the investment environment since 2011. The Investment Advisory
Council established in Northern Cyprus will be able to further improve the
investment environment in Northern Cyprus by taking bolder decisions for the
investment environment.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu
explained that the third issue was discussed with his counterparts for the
establishment of a Joint Consultative Committee, where economic and social
actors meet in Turkey, model in Northern Cyprus. A joint consultative committee
was established in Northern Cyprus last year. This structure performs a very
important function in ensuring the contribution of economic and social circles
to economic and social transformation efforts.”
Emphasizing
that they are working to support Northern Cyprus' efforts to integrate with the
world, Hisarciklıoğlu said, “As TOBB, we keep the unfair embargoes imposed on
Northern Cyprus on our agenda in every international environment in which we
are involved. On platforms such as the Islamic Chamber and EUROCHAMBRES, we are
working to represent Northern Cyprus. In the past, we have made efforts in the
business delegation in Moscow to bring Northern Cyprus to the forefront of the
Formula One competition held in Istanbul. By establishing the Nicosia Economic
Forum, we conveyed the support of the business community to the political
process in Cyprus. In addition to TOBB, the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of
Commerce, the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Industry, the Cyprus Chamber of
Commerce and Industry and the Hellenic Chambers Union attended this forum. We
talked about concrete issues. In short, we consider the process of economic
development of Northern Cyprus in a multidimensional way. We will continue to
contribute.”