ANKARA (AA) – An economic cooperation agreement between Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus worth 3.5 billion liras ($1.2 billion) was published in the official gazette Wednesday.
The agreement between the two republics was signed in Ankara on May 27, which became valid following ratification by Turkey’s Cabinet members on June 13.
The new agreement proposes loans and grants of up to $1.2 billion from Turkey to Northern Cyprus to support public finance, real sector, infrastructure investments, defense and structural reforms for a three-year period.
Aside from financial help, Turkey will also provide technical support to Turkish Cypriots in all fields and Turkish public officials will also be able to station temporarily at Northern Cyprus as long as requested.
Also, a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a joint customs committee between the Trade Ministry of Turkey and Finance Ministry of the Turkish Cypriot government was also ratified, the official gazette revealed.
According to the MoU, a joint committee will identify key areas of cooperation and also oversee collaboration in customs area between the two countries.
