Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Turgay Avcý is currently in Jeddah to attend the 8th Jeddah Economic Forum organized with the guidance of Jeddah Chamber of Industry and Commerce and under the aegis of Mecca Region Governor Prince Abdul Majeed Bin Abdul Aziz and to carry out various other contacts.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and statesmen from many other countries are also attending the Forum, which started on the Saturday (24 February) and will continue until tomorrow (27 February).

President of the Jeddah Chamber of Industry and Commerce Saleh Al Turki gave the opening speech and later plaquettes were given to those who contributed to the economic and commercial development of Saudi Arabia.

Government officials, businessmen, academicians and press representatives are also attending to Jeddah Economic Forum which aims to promote Jeddah as the center of trade, business and finance.

The main topics of the Forum are “Economic Reform Strategies”, Economic Reform and Legal Structure” and “Privatization”.

Foreign Minister Avcý who then attended the meeting of Turkey-Saudi Arabia Businessmen Association have been carrying out various other contacts and briefing foreign people attending the Forum on the Cyprus issue.

Avcý, who also met with the President of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the OIC Seyh Saleeh Bin Apdallah Kamel, expressed the demand for co-operation between the two countries’ Chambers of Commerce and Industry and for the maintenance of contacts in order to promote TRNC products in Saudi Arabia as well as in other Islamic countries.

Speaking during his meeting with Seyh Salleh, Avcý explained that his aim was to present some projects of the TRNC in the fields of economy, trade and education to the Organization of the Islamic Conference and its member states and requested support from the Minister of Islamic Commerce and Industry.

For his part, the Chamber’s President Seyh Saleeh Bin Apdallah Kamel said that the Chamber, under the guidance of the OIC, would do its best for the promotion of TRNC export products, as well as contributing to the projects to be presented by the TRNC.

Appraising the initiatives of the TRNC Foreign Ministry before the Islamic countries, Seyh Salleh said he would call upon all Islamic countries and institutions to support the Muslim Turkish Cypriot People.

Reminding that the Turkish Cypriots by voting in favour of the UN plan with a strong majority proved that they desired peace, Seyh Saleeh said the Islamic countries should provide more support to the Turkish Cypriots.

Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer was officially invited to the German State of Hessen by Deputy Chairman of the Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Group and MP with the Social Democrat Party from Hessen  Jurgen Walter under the title of ‘CTP leader and Prime Minister’ in May.

According to the statement issued from the TRNC Prime Ministry the invitation letter was conveyed to the Ministry through the Former MEP and the Executive Member of SDP South Hessen Organization Ozan Ceyhun. The statement pointed out that Walter in the said letter expressed pleasure for the meetings they carried out during their visit to the TRNC and noted that: “These meetings had a great contribution for us to understand the situation of North Cyprus. We surely desire the continuation of the exchange of views. For this reason, in order to continue this dialogue, it will be an honour for us to invite you to Wiesbaden, where the “European Working Group” from our State Parliament will also attend”.

The statement added that the Prime Minister said that he was pleased to accept the invitation and had informed Walter that he was looking forward to carry out the visit in the first week of May.

During the excavations carried out in Strovolos in South Nicosia by the Missing Persons Committee within the framework of its exhumation and identification project, remains of Turkish Cypriot missing persons were found.

According to the information received from the Committee’s Turkish Cypriot Member Gulden Plumer Kucuk, the number of missing persons whom the remains were found in a well in Strovolos would be identified after putting together the remains in the Anthropology Laboratory.