Prime Minister Tufan Erhürman said that the TRNC is the perfect place for investments in the tourism sector, higher education and information technology.
Erhürman was speaking at a lunch given during the ‘Turkey-TRNC Investment and Cooperation Conference’ that was organised jointly by the Turkish Businesswomen’s Association and the Eastern Mediterranean Politics Association.
He said that while efforts were being made to make the TRNC more recognisable around the world they discovered that they haven’t in fact promoted the TRNC enough in Turkey.
Noting that tourism and the higher education sector had made important gains in the country, the prime minister pointed to the importance of investors from Turkey coming to the country and seeing for themselves the opportunities that are available.
“In order for the TRNC to be re-promoted in Turkey there is a need for a new widespread promotion project,” said Erhürman and added that the number of tourists that come from Turkey is insufficient.
Noting that the TRNC has a rich history and culture he also pointed to the importance of widening the variety of tourism opportunities in the country.
Addressing the conference on Thursday, Minister of Energy and Economy Ozdil Nami said that “the TRNC should be transformed into an economy with high added value”. Nami said that it would be possible to reduce the problems caused by embargoes and being an island, by offering competitive products and services.
The economy minister explained that “the Gross National Product of the TRNC is 4 billion dollars and the income per capita is approximately 14,000 dollars, while the average annual growth is 5.4%”. He further said that “imports are 1.8 billion dollars and 60% of their imports come from Turkey and 20% from Europe, while exports are 105 million dollars, from which 60% go to Turkey and 20% to the Islamic countries”. He added that their “main export product are hellim and citrus fruits”.
BRT, Star Kibris
