The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Serdar Denktas, stressed that important steps were beginning to be taken in overcoming the difficulties facing the TRNC's participation in international activities as the TRNC.

Underlining that these steps were the result of initiatives started by the 57 member countries of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC), who were also members of the UN, Serdar Denktas said: "By visiting our counterparts in the Islamic countries we are explaining our problems to them and investigating cooperation opportunities in all fields. We need to press the Islamic countries so that they can try and ease the embargoes imposed upon the Turkish Cypriot people. We need to work hard on this issue".

Last weekend, Serdar Denktas attended the OIC meeting in Saudi Arabia, where he met with the OIC Secretary-General, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the President of the Islamic Development Bank, Dr. Ahmed Muhammed Ali and the Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council of the Gulf Arab Countries (KIK), Abdulrahman Hamad Al Atiyah, which is made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Stressing that his contacts in Riyadh and Jeddah were very constructive, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs said, he visited the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, for the first time, and his visit was very constructive. He said that during the visit he found the opportunity to give first hand information about the Cyprus issue to his counterparts and explain the Turkish Cypriot side's request to the Islamic world.

Referring to his contacts, Serdar Denktas said the President of the Islamic Development Bank, Dr. Ahmed Muhammed Ali, had stated that the Islamic Development Bank would establish relations between TRNC businessmen and businessmen in the Islamic countries, contribute to establishing cooperation in the field of tourism and provide loans for projects to be developed by the TRNC in various fields. He added that the Secretary-General of the KIK had also stated that the KIK would support the participation of the Turkish Cypriot youth in international sporting activities in the OIC countries.

Indicating that important steps were beginning to be taken in overcoming the difficulties to ensure the TRNC's participation in international activities as the TRNC, Serdar Denktas said, as a result of the intensive contacts made by the TRNC with the OIC, one week ago, the TRNC was represented at the OIC Tourism Ministers Meeting in Senegal and is currently being represented at the Islamic Youth and Sports Ministers Meeting in Jeddah. He said following meetings with OIC officials it was jointly agreed that from now on the TRNC would attend meetings and activities that would be organized within the framework of the OIC.

The TRNC Minister for Youth and Sports, Ozkan Yorgancioglu, is continuing with his contacts in Jeddah, where he is attending the "Conference for Islamic Solidarity in Sports".

In a statement issued from the Ministry for Youth and Sport, it was stated that following the contacts made by Minister Yorgancioglu and his delegation with the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Sports of Algeria, the Conference Representatives and the President of the Olympic Committee, it was agreed that bilateral relations would be established.

It was also stated that during Minister Yorgancioglu's meeting with Dr. Naseer, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Sports of Saudi Arabia, the TRNC was invited to attend the folklore festival in Saudi Arabia. Dr. Naseer, underlining that this invitation was made at a state level, said Saudi Arabia would do all it could to ensure the continuation of this cooperation (with the TRNC).

Minister Yorgancioglu also met with the Somalian Minister for Sports and the Tunisian Secretary-General of the Ministry of Sport and during the meetings it was agreed to further develop relations.

Meanwhile, in his meeting with, Ali Buheda, the President of the OIC International Human Rights Committee, Minister Yorgancioglu, informing him about the isolation imposed upon the Turkish Cypriot people and the efforts of the Turkish Cypriot people for peace, said it was necessary to put an end to the embargoes.