President Ersin Tatar continued his contacts in Brussels by meeting with representatives of the Turkish business world.
In his speech at the meeting, Tatar said, “We are taking our place as an independent Turkish state despite the unfair practices of the other side.”
Emphasizing that there has been peace, tranquillity and security in Cyprus for 50 years, the President emphasized that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) will grow and develop even more once the isolation and embargoes are lifted.
President Ersin Tatar paid a visit to the Brussels Representative Office of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye and met with representatives of the Turkish business world in Belgium.
In his speech, the President emphasized that “The TRNC as an independent Turkish state, is the gateway of the entire Turkish world to the Mediterranean with its ports, its effectiveness in the airspace, the value of the Blue Homeland and its capacity as a logistics base.”
Stating that the TRNC has its own political issues, Tatar said, “There are some problems because the world does not fully recognize us and there are still embargoes on us, but despite this, there has been economic growth and development since 1974.”
Noting that the tourism sector has developed in the TRNC, Tatar said, “Our bed capacity has exceeded 30 thousand. We have more than 20 5 star and above hotels. In the past, there were very few flights to the TRNC, now there are 12 flights a day from Istanbul to Ercan Airport and 6 flights a day from Ankara.”
Pointing out that there are frequent flights to the TRNC from airports in various provinces of Türkiye, Tatar said that there are currently 2 million arrivals and 2 million return flights a year, and that he expects this to reach 6 to 7 million in 10 years.
Stating that Ercan Airport has developed and grown, Tatar emphasized that the annual capacity has been increased from 2 million to 10 million and that this capacity can be increased to 15 million in a short time with the reserves allocated.
Also touching upon the significant growth in software studies, Tatar gave the electric car named “Günsel” produced at the Near East University in the TRNC as an example.
“The TRNC has become a brand value. We have three universities, Eastern Mediterranean University, Near East University and Cyprus International University, among the top 1000 universities in the world. We are taking our place as an independent Turkish state despite the unfair practices of the other side,” Tatar said, emphasizing that there has been peace, tranquillity and security in Cyprus for 50 years.
He pointed to the importance of international investments in economic development and said, “The TRNC will grow and develop even more if isolation and embargoes are lifted.”
Tatar also noted that the TRNC is a very advantageous centre of attraction with its climate, air, nature, sea and geographical location.
The Turkish Ambassador to Brussels Bekir Uysal for his part said “As Türkiye, we always stand by the TRNC and the Turkish Cypriots. We closely follow the developments regarding the Cyprus issue which is our national cause.”
“A just, lasting and sustainable solution is only possible with an approach based on the realities of the island.” Uysal said adding that the re-registration of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot people will be the key to a solution.
“We strongly support the two-state solution vision put forward by the TRNC Presidency. The isolation must be ended. It is a necessity to recognize the status that the Turkish Cypriot people already deserve as soon as possible and to keep the promises made in the past and to remove the unfair and unlawful obstacles” said Uysal.brt
