President Ersin Tatar is attending the 26th Eurasian Economic Summit and holding contacts in Istanbul, Türkiye.
Tatar attended the opening sessions of the summit on Tuesday morning. Earlier on Monday, President Tatar held a 40-minute meeting with Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States Ambassador Kubanychbek Omuraliev.
Following the meeting at the Secretariat for the Organization of Turkic States Secretariat, Tatar visited the TRNC Consulate General where he evaluated his meeting with Omuraliev to BRT and the TAK news agency.
Pointing out that it was an important development that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) had been granted observer membership to the Organization of Turkic States with its official title in Samarkand, Uzbekistan last November, Tatar said that they had been trying to develop relations with the organisation’s member states since then.
Tatar also explained that he will be attending a meeting of the heads of the member states of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), in Ankara on March 16 as guest of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
He stated that they discussed the preparations before the meeting with OTS Secretary General Kubanychbek Omuraliev and how to arrange bilateral meetings with the presidents of other countries.
Tatar also said that they had made a request to address the meeting and that preparations were being carried out.
Noting that the Organization of Turkic States attached great importance to the TRNC and that the embargoes imposed on the Turkish Cypriot people had no validity for member states, the President said they were working towards the easing of restrictions and isolations imposed on the TRNC, starting with the member states.
He said that all these issues had also been discussed with the EU and other countries, and stressed that the outdated and inhumane embargoes imposed on Turkish Cypriots needed to be lifted if an agreement on the basis of equality was truly desired in Cyprus.
“We are saying that obstacles for Turkish Cypriots should be removed. A stronger Turkish Cypriot economy could strengthen prospects for a settlement in the future because in order to reach an agreement in Cyprus on the basis of cooperation between two equal states, it would be beneficial if we were stronger in various aspects. We are continuing our struggle. My visit to the Organization of Turkic States before Ankara was quite productive,” he said.
Tatar said that he will touch upon the TRNC’s achievements in the Eastern Mediterranean, both as an island of tourism and higher education in his speech at the 26th Eurasian Economic Summit.
Noting that Cyprus is no longer the old Cyprus, the President said that the TRNC was developing on a model similar to that of Singapore and Dubai.
Also touching upon the earthquake disaster that occurred in Türkiye on February 6, Tatar said that the disaster which had also affected the TRNC had caused great grief and sorrow for the Turkish nation.
He said that they had also started to assess buildings in the TRNC following the earthquake in Türkiye.
Tatar later visited a business opened by TRNC citizen Nurçin Niyazi in cooperation with the Turkish Ministry of National Education.
As part of his other contacts, President Ersin Tatar will also meet with the officials from the Istanbul Chamber of Industry.
President Ersin Tatar will return to the republic on Tuesday evening after completing his contacts.