Turkish President Erdoğan visits the TRNC

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan paid his first official foreign visit to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on Monday after his reelection as President.

Erdoğan arrived in the TRNC around 12:00pm and was greeted by TRNC President, Ersin Tatar, Prime Minister, Ünal Üstel and high level state and government officials.

Just outside the airport, a jubilant crowd gathered to see the Turkish president, waving Turkish, TRNC and Azerbaijan flags.

Stepping out of his car, Erdoğan shook hands with members of the public who had been waiting to see a glimpse of him.

Erdoğan’s first official stop was the Atatürk monument in Lefkoşa where he laid wreaths. Having laid a wreath at the Lefkosa's statue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, he made his way to Tatar’s official residence alongside members of the TRNC ‘cabinet’, Turkiye's newly appointed Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, and Turkish ambassador to the TRNC Metin Feyzioğlu.

He then moved onto the presidential palace where he was given a ceremonial welcomed by the honour guard.

Also present at the presidential palace was the Speaker of the Republic’s Assembly Zorlu Töre, Prime Minister Ünal Üstel, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Environment Fikri Ataoğlu, the Minister of Public Works and Transportation Erhan Arıklı, members of the cabinet.

Following a face-to-face meeting between the two presidents, a meeting was held between technical delegations from both countries.

Following the meeting, a joint press conference was held at the Presidential Complex.

Tatar spoke about how Turkey is now on its way to becoming “not just a regional power but a global power”, and thanked Erdoğan for his support on the Cyprus problem, pointing out important moments such as the 5+1 meeting in Geneva in 2020 and Erdoğan’s speech to the United Nations general assembly last year in which he instructed members to “recognise the TRNC”.

Erdoğan thanked those who voted in last month’s Turkish elections, and those who attended his inauguration ceremony earlier this month. He also focused on his ambition to solve the “electricity problem” in the TRNC with the construction of a cable transmitting electricity from Turkey to the north.

Speaking on the Cyprus issue, Erdoğan commended what he called Tatar’s “results-orientated vision”.

“No one can bear to waste another 50 years of time. If there is to be a return to the negotiating table, the only way to do this is to recognise the TRNC,” he said.

Erdoğan and Tatar also held a meeting with Prime Minister Ünal Üstel and Minister of Energy and Turkish Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar.

Having completed his programme in Cyprus, Erdoğan is now en route to Azerbaijan where it is expected he will meet with President İlham Aliyev.