Friday, 18 February 2005Representatives of US companies arrived in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) yesterday to explore business opportunities in the country, a move hailed by Turkish Cypriots as a landmark step towards breaking their international isolation. The visit irked the Greek Cypriot government. The delegation, accompanied by the US Embassy in Turkey's trade attach+®, was to meet Turkish Cypriot entrepreneurs before leaving later in the day. The US has pledged to support Turkish Cypriot businesses as a reward for the "yes" the Turkish Cypriots gave last April to a UN plan to resolve Cyprus' division. Washington has allocated $30.5 million to assist the development of Turkish Cypriot businesses and help narrow the wide gap between the economies of the North and the south. The head of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Trade, Ali Erel, hailed the visit as "a milestone" with not only economic, but also political significance. "Cooperation with US companies, the presence of US brands here will have a great influence on the Greek Cypriots," Erel told Turkish news channel NTV. "It is important to motivate the Greek Cypriots towards a settlement in Cyprus." The Greek Cypriot government's objection to the visit was because the businessmen were accompanied by a US diplomat who entered Cyprus through an "illegal port" in the North, spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said in remarks published yesterday in the Cyprus Mail newspaper. Turkish Cypriots were long seen as an obstacle to a settlement on Cyprus, but the outcome of last year's referendum has shifted some of the international pressure on the Greek side.
Source: Aksam via BYEGM, 18 February 2005 |
Friday, 18 February 2005
Aksam
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