“We must break out of our shell”

Foreign Minister Özdil Nami stated that he has made great efforts to increase his contacts abroad since his inauguration as Foreign Minister and that during these contacts, he has been working on how economic, social and cultural relations can be enhanced, stating “we must break out of our shell.”

In his interview with Yurdagül Beyoğlu of Haberal Kıbrıslı newspaper, Foreign Minister Özdil Nami indicated that he recently visited Jeddah, Muscat and Doha to relay information regarding the Cyprus issue to his counterparts and discuss ways to lift the isolation. Nami stated “the population of Qatar is 250,000 but there are 2.5 million people living in the country and it is in contact with all parts of the world. Many places from Singapore to Abu Dhabi have comparable populations to ours. Being small does not mean being closed off to the world. By minimizing bureaucracy, these countries are attracting foreign investors. We must follow their example”, adding that much work must be done in order for these contacts to bear fruit. Emphasizing the need to remove bureaucratic impediments in order to attract foreign investment to the Island, Nami stated “Public reform is inevitable. We no longer have the luxury of wasting time”.

Referring to relations between the TRNC and Turkey, Nami stated that there is an ancient and eternal, inseparable bond of brotherhood between the two countries, adding “This bond is unlike our bond with any other country”. Emphasizing that the Turkish Cypriot people have sensitivities on various issues, Nami expressed that the two sides of the Island have reached a point of understanding each other better. Indicating that we live in a world where no one is independent of anyone, Nami assessed that “If a development in one part of the world affects another, and if the value of its currency affects the value of the stock market, this means that everyone is connected”.