Greek Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot chambers in new online venture

The achievements of the Cyprus Producers’ Network (CPN) bicommunal project were highlighted at an event at the Nicosia Fulbright Center last week, that previewed the new CPN web portal, an interactive business development and communications tool for business people from both communities to use to develop business contacts across the Green Line.
The 16-month CPN project was a collaborative venture that included the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KEVE), the Cyprus Turkish Chamber of Industry (CTCI) and the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce (TCCC). Through the CPN, which was funded by the UNDP’s Action for Cooperation and Trust, the chambers collaborated to launch several initiatives designed to create trust, cooperation and business links among businesspeople from the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities.
The activities of the CPN project included a comprehensive survey of attitudes towards Green Line trade in both communities, business to business meetings that paired Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot business people with counterparts in the other community, and the launch of the CPN web portal.
At their core, the CPN activities promoted the development of trust between the business people in both communities that is necessary in order to establish long-term business relationships.
The event also featured an overview of the recommendations of the Green Line trade survey aiming at enhancing trade and business cooperation between the two communities and of the business to business meeting evaluations. Evaluations of the project indicated that 65% of the participants met at least one potential business partner at the B2B meetings.
During the event, Marina Vasilara, UNDP-ACT Programme Analyst, lauded the project’s success by stating, “bi-communal projects which assist both communities to develop better communications and relations will continue to have considerable impact and play a crucial role in Cyprus”.