The port of occupied Famagusta has submitted an application for inclusion in the Sister Ports program of the Organization of Turkish States, said the "Minister of Public Works and Transport", Erhan Arikli.
According to the GTP, the local press writes that according to the information provided by the "ministry" the request was made to the Secretariat of the Organization of Turkish States in Istanbul.
The announcement states that Mr. Arikli conveyed the request to be included in the Memorandum of Understanding of the Sister Ports to the Secretary General of the Organization of Turkish States, Ambassador Kubanicbek Ömuraliyev.
Erhan Arikli stated that the inclusion of the port of Famagusta in the Sister Ports project would be "a very significant blow to the unfair restrictions imposed on the port", as he claimed.
"The Organization of Turkish States should take into account this request of the Turkish Cypriots and respond positively to this justified request. What we expect from our brothers and sisters is to show us the same approach they have shown to other observer members," he said. Arikli also argued that "there is no international rule or binding decision against travel or trade through the port of Famagusta and that this has been confirmed many times by international organizations and the European Commission, the EU's executive body."
Arguing that the organization of direct routes from the occupied port of Famagusta to another country other than Turkey had been denounced in the past by Greek Cypriot Members of the European Parliament, Mr. Arikli recalled that the European Commission replied that "as long as there is no restrictive article regarding the port of Famagusta, you should discuss the matter with the competent country".
He added that if the Organization of Turkish States includes the port of Famagusta in the port twinning plan, it will open a new and very important market for the pseudo-state's products.
If the application is accepted, the port of Famagusta will become part of the TDT Sister Ports project together with the three dry cargo ports of Samsun, Mersin, Baku, Aktau (Kazakhstan), Kurik (Kazakhstan) and Uzbekistan.
The Sister Ports project was created as part of the connectivity program signed by the Ministers of Transport at the 9th meeting of the Organization of Turkish States on November 11, 2022.
Source: KYPE