Businesspeople from Cyprus, Greece and Turkey hope for a Cyprus solution

The four main business organizations of Cyprus, Greece and Turkey in joint statement they call on the two communities in Cyprus to continue the negotiations in good faith with the aim to achieve a comprehensive and viable solution of the Cyprus problem.

The four organizations, namely the Cyprus Employers & Industrialists Federation (OEB), the Turkish Cypriot Businessmen Association (ISAD), the Association of Industrialists of Greece (SEV ) and the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen Association (TUSIAD), met on Thursday in the Turkish occupied Nicosia.

Following the meeting, a joint statement was issued by the organizations stressing that “we urge the two communities in Cyprus to make every possible effort to achieve an agreement and conclude all the aspects of a comprehensive solution as soon as possible”.

The four organizations, it adds, express the hope that the ongoing Turkey’s EU accession negotiations as well as the negotiations between the communities of Cyprus will contribute to achieve an acceptable solution to the longstanding Cyprus issue during the current year”.

They, also, note that the effort for economic development of Cyprus as a whole will ensure the economic integration of the island.

In addition, they consider that no opportunity to solve the problem should be lost, while they encourage the continuation of the talks between the leaders of the two communities and the speeding up of the efforts to reach an agreement.

President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot Leader Mehmet Ali Talat have been engaged in talks, under UN auspices, since last September with a view to finding a mutually agreed settlement that will reunite the country.