Foreign Minister Nami Gives Information On His Contacts In Iran At General Assembly Of Parliament

Minister of Foreign Affairs Özdil Nami gave information about his contacts in Iran at the General Assembly of the Parliament, yesterday (28 November).

Explaining that the Foreign Ministry was carrying out intensive studies for increasing foreign contacts, Foreign Minister Nami said some of these were the continuation of the relations established by the former government.

Underlining that he attended the ECO (Economic Cooperation Organization) meeting in Tehran for the first time as the Foreign Minister of the Turkish Cypriot State, Nami thanked Iranian government for its warm and close interest.

Pointing out that there were Iranian students studying in the TRNC universities and import-export relations between the TRNC and Iran, Nami said during his visit in Tehran, he had the opportunity to meet with the Iranian President as well as other high-level officials.

Stressing that these kinds of contacts became possible as the result of the Turkish Cypriot people’s “yes” vote to the Annan plan, Foreign Minister Nami said efforts towards lifting embargoes and increasing welfare level of the Turkish Cypriot people would continue.

Explaining that the Foreign Ministry was closely following and making constructive contributions to the negotiations besides having close relations with the Presidency, Foreign Minister Nami said: “Basis for negotiations is obvious. President has clearly expressed his commitment to this basis to the UN and prepared the ground for us to support him. The main opposition party UBP (National Unity Party) also expressed its commitment on the issue. I hope that this unity on the Cyprus issue continues and has the necessary influence on the Greek Cypriot side. It is true that the Greek Cypriot side is dragging its feet, but we are continuing to make positive contribution to the process”.

Nami added that although the meeting between President Derviş Eroğlu and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades did not give the expected result, they maintained their hopes for the resumption of the negotiations.