Protectionism should end: Turkish Cypriot premier

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Protectionism should end for a better life, fairer free trade and wealth, the prime minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) said on Wednesday.

"After all those years, we are now in 2020, but we are still talking about protectionism. Why? Because some well-established richer societies want more and more," Ersin Tatar told the 10th Bosphorus Summit in Istanbul.

People should think about fair distribution of resources that expand with technology and digitalization, he noted.

"If we are wanting peace and stability and sustainability, we should be more understanding, we should be more caring, and we should be more comforting to each other," the prime minister added.

He also said that powerful countries should even be more understanding and lead to fairer societies.

The world should find a way for sharing resources more equally for 8.5-billion global population, he stressed.

- Mediterranean energy resources

Referring to the energy resources in the Mediterranean, he said that the Turkish Cypriots believe that the resources of Cyprus should be equally distributed between the two countries.

A committee should be formed by the two countries to organize activities in the Mediterranean but the Greek Cypriots, together with some powerful states, refuse such efforts, he said.

"Therefore, in the eastern Mediterranean with Turkey, we are exploiting our rights, because we have been stating to the international community that we have in these resources as equal rights as you experience, this is our right.

"In the new world order, for peace and stability in the eastern Mediterranean, we should recognize these facts to be respected, otherwise, it [the new world order] might lead to instability," added Tatar.

The three-day Bosphorus Summit, organized by the International Communication Platform under the auspices of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is held between Nov. 27-29 with the theme of "Towards a New World Order".

Top Turkish and foreign officials, high-level businesspeople, academics and experts attend the summit for addressing trending topics such as trade issues, changing world order, digital transformation and defense industry.