Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu has said that there was one simple answer to the Cyprus Problem: the recognition of the Greek Cypriot side as the legitimate government of the island.

“That is the problem. Therefore, the solution is the recognition of the TRNC,” Ertuğruloğlu said during a speech he delivered at the February Assembly Meeting of the Kocaeli Chamber of Industry (KSO).

Also participating at the meeting was the Minister of Economy and Energy Olgun Amcaoğlu.

Speaking at the meeting, Ertuğruloğlu emphasized that the Turkish Cypriot people, who have been subjected to unjust embargoes for years and unfairly treated with isolation policies, have much to learn from Türkiye, which is a regional power and actor moving towards becoming a global actor, transcending its borders.

“Highlighting dynamism not only in industry but in every aspect,” Ertuğruloğlu pointed out that creativity and competitiveness are at the forefront in Türkiye.

The foreign minister also emphasized the need for progress in these areas in the TRNC, stating, “Because for years, under conditions where our international relations have been seriously damaged by embargoes and isolations, and our path has been blocked, we have had to live in a closed environment. We made the mistake of thinking that the realities we created in our world were international realities. We believe that breaking out of our shell and learning lessons from our motherland, moving forward hand in hand with our motherland, is the only path we can follow.”

Asserting that “the existence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is the essence of the solution to the Cyprus Problem,” Ertuğruloğlu emphasized that the TRNC has never been an obstacle to the solution.

“Therefore, we are obliged to define the Cyprus problem. Everyone says, ‘Let the Cyprus problem be solved.’ Fine, let it be solved. What is the problem? If we were to ask with a survey, ‘Define the Cyprus problem,’ many things would emerge. There is only one simple answer to the Cyprus problem. The Cyprus problem is the recognition of the Greek Cypriot side as the ‘Republic of Cyprus.’ That is the problem. Therefore, the solution is the recognition and acceptance of the TRNC. What does this mean? It means ending the recognition of the ‘Republic of Cyprus’ as the sole representative on the island,” he stressed.

Ertuğruloğlu concluded by stating that the Cyprus issue is not only a matter between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots but is also a matter of the Turkish nation. “The Turkish Cypriot people are an inseparable part of the great Turkish nation,” he said.

Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Economy and Energy Olgun Amcaoğlu said that efforts were underway to make it easier for investors, particularly those from Türkiye, to invest in the TRNC.

“We signed all the pending agreements and regulations last week with the Turkish Minister of Commerce Ömer Bolat and the Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, regarding opening new investment areas for our investor brothers from the Republic of Turkey,” he said, adding that projects in the ‘Güvercinlik Industrial Zone’ had been completed and that the tender process on Ankara’s agenda will be completed in a very short time”

Chairman of the KSO Board of Directors Ayhan Zeytinoğlu stated that the TRNC has national causes, expressing their readiness as the business world to provide all kinds of support to the TRNC.

Meanwhile, Ertuğruloğlu and Amcaoğlu also spoke at the “Relations between the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Turkey-EU” panel organized by the Faculty of Political Science at Kocaeli University.