The “1st Cities and Cultures Meeting” organized by the Prime Ministry was held at a hotel in Istanbul last night (Wednesday).
After the opening, an iftar was organized with the participation of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) citizens living in Istanbul.
President Ersin Tatar, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, Prime Minister Ünal Üstel, Deputy Prime Minister Fikri Ataoğlu, Minister of Public Works and Transportation Erhan Arıklı, as well as the People’s Alliance Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) Mayor candidate Murat Kurum and many guests attended the event.
President Ersin Tatar, Prime Minister Ünal Üstel and Murat Kurum inaugurated the exhibition “To experience North Cyprus in Istanbul” organized within the scope of the 1st Cities and Cultures Meeting and then toured the exhibition.
After the opening was completed an iftar dinner was held.
Delivering a speech at the dinner, President Tatar stated that after the investments in road works, infrastructure and communication, the TRNC will move on to another era with the arrival of electricity via cable from Türkiye.
Stating that they will once again strongly announce to the world what sovereign equality and equal international status means in Cyprus, Tatar said, “We are once again saying no to the intrigues that could drag us into danger with an agreement on a federal basis.”
Pointing to the new policy in the TRNC, Tatar said, “This policy is a national policy”.
“The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, as an independent Turkish state, is the southernmost representative of the Turkic states and therefore a door and a window opening to the Mediterranean.”
Noting that Murat Kurum assisted greatly during the opening of Maraş, the President wished him success during the upcoming elections in Türkiye.
Prime Minister Ünal Üstel for his part touched upon the atrocities that are taking place in Gaza and said that Israel is mercilessly bombing the people of Gaza without differentiating between women, men or children.
“The world is sitting and watching. Only Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is taking initiatives.
Addressing the Turkish Cypriot businesspeople who have been living in Türkiye, Üstel said that they have opened their doors to these valuable businesspeople to invest in the TRNC and save them from bureaucracy.
Noting that the TRNC has never been separated from motherland Türkiye, Üstel emphasized that Türkiye has always been a supporter of big projects in the TRNC.
The Prime Minister said that they will soon be bringing together the water coming from Türkiye and Anatolia to the Mesarya Plains and that the work for this has begun.
Noting that they signed a protocol to bring energy from Türkiye to the TRNC via cable, Üstel stated that there will no longer be any energy problems in the TRNC.