Muslim businesses to visit N Cyprus

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

An employee of TPAO, a Turkish oil firm, looks at drilling equipment on Northern Cyprus. The company is scheduled to begin searching for fuel on the island. AA photo

The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) will lead a large mission from the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) to Turkish Cyprus April 12 and 13 to discuss investment opportunities on the island. 

“We want to put Northern Cyprus on the world investment map,” said Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, chairman of TOBB and the ICCI’s Vice-Chairman. Hisarcıklıoğlu said he will bring businesspeople from Islamic countries to Turkish Cyprus to attend the Northern Cyprus Investment Forum, which is supported by the TOBB. 

The event will take place right after the ICCI’s general assembly in Istanbul ends on April 11. ICCI, an organization tied to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), brings together chambers of trade, industry, unions and federations from 57 countries. 

The goal is to help Turkish Cyprus stand on its own feet economically, Hisarcıklıoğlu told the Anatolia news agency. The event will be held in Kyrenia, on the northern coast of the island, under the auspices of the Islamic Development Bank and the Foreign Ministry of Turkish Cyprus.

OIC’s Turkish President Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu is also expected to attend the meetings. OIC’s support for Turkish Cyprus will continue, İhsanoglu said in a press conference April 7.