Turkey, N. Cyprus to cooperate on data flow, migration

By Orhan Onur Gemici and Murat Demirci</p> <p>LEFKOSA (AA) – Officials from Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) inked Thursday a cooperation deal on data sharing and migration in the capital of latter.</p> <p>Following a meeting between delegations behind closed doors, Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Aysegul Baybars signed the cooperation protocol.</p> <p>In his speech, Soylu said that the agreements signed &quot;added one more brick to the building of brotherhood&quot; between Turkey and TRNC.</p> <p>&quot;What makes us free and powerful, what makes us independent is the will of unity we have,&quot; he said, calling the friendship between Turkey and TRNC as an exceptional example.</p> <p>Soylu also underlined that TRNC will never be alone and the two countries will maintain their unshakeable unity. </p> <p>Baybars, on her turn, pointed out the importance of the protocol for the development of cooperation between Turkey and TRNC.</p> <p>She emphasized that the protocol will boost the cooperation in data flow, combat against international crime and migration issues between the two &quot;close and neighboring&quot; countries.</p> <p>Any kind of cooperation is an &quot;important step&quot; on prevention of crime in TRNC and ensuring the security in Turkey, Baybars said. </p> <p>&quot;We are signing two protocols on technical, judicial and administrative cooperation,&quot; she added.</p> <p>Cyprus was divided into a Turkish Cypriot state in the north and a Greek Cypriot administration in the south after a 1974 Greek Cypriot military coup was followed by violence against the island’s Turks and Turkey’s intervention as a guarantor power.</p> <p>The status of the island remains unresolved in spite of a series of negotiations over the years, including the Crans-Montana talks in 2017, which ended in failure.