WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TRADE OFFICE OF NORTH CYPRUS IN KUWAIT CITY?
Yuksel Soylemez

New Anatolian, Turkey
May 21 2007

The Kuwait Prime Minister was recently the official guest of Prime
Minister Erdogan. Their main agenda was the intention of developing
economic and trade relations, facilitating Kuwaiti investments in
Turkey and vice versa. Prime Minister Al Sabah was accompanied by
the Turkish Minister of Finance on his visit to Istanbul where he
met with Turkish industrialists and businessmen. All in all, it was
a successful and beneficial visit.

One important outcome concerned the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
with an initiative to open a TRNC Trade Office in Kuwait City, so that
Kuwaiti businessmen can do better business with TRNC and exports can
be increased from Northern Cyprus to Kuwait.

Trade Offices over the world serve as economic and tourism
agencies with no political bias. One such example is in China-Taiwan
relations. China does not recognize Taiwan, but there is a huge trade
volume and investment between the two. Turkey does not recognize
Taiwan diplomatically, but there has been a Turkish Trade Office in
Taipei since 1993.

I was in charge of the Turkish Trade Office in Taipei as Representative
for three and a half years between 1995 and 1998. The first
representative was retired ambassador, the late Metin Sirman.

Beijing had no objection to a Turkish Trade Office in Taipei. Our
official trade volume some ten years ago was around $500,000, but in
actual terms it was probably about the $2 billion mark at the time,
according to Turkish businessmen, if one includes a) luggage trade,
b) trade from third countries and c) unregistered trade.

The Greek Cypriot administration in the South immediately reacted
by political reflex against the Kuwaiti Cabinet decision to allow a
TRNC trade mission in Kuwait City by making representations in Kuwait,
saying that the Kuwaiti decision is an "unwanted development and they
will use all means to stop this decision being materialized." By doing
this, the Greek Cypriot leadership reminded themselves, as much as
the Kuwaitis, that "this decision cannot mean granting legitimacy to
the Turkish Cypriots." It was a statement of the obvious.

Taiwan has had a Trade Mission in Ankara since 1992 and is busy
developing Taiwan’s exports and investments to Turkey, especially
in electronics and, more specifically. laptop computers. China has
no objection to Taiwan’s Trade Office in Ankara. By comparison, the
Greek Cypriots’ objection, as a matter of political reflex, to fight
against its establishment is beyond reason or international practice.

Turkey does not recognize Armenia, but has some trade with Yerevan,
and, to my mind, should open a Trade Mission in Yerevan, as there
is an Armenian representative in Istanbul visibly under the title
of Representative to the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Region
Organization, who is probably taking care of such matters.

Now some time has passed, and I am afraid no news is not good news,
which presumably means that the Greek Cypriot leaders must have been
active in getting the Kuwait Government to stop its Trade Office
initiative and will to stand behind its cabinet decision and its
Prime Minister’s word to Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. To open a
trade office cannot be interpreted as recognition of TRNC and Kuwait
was not wrong in suggesting this. It cannot be argued that it is
a first step towards recognition, because there are precedents in
favor of their decision. The Greek Cypriot leadership’s efforts to
block this initiative may prove counterproductive, if not negative,
to their already negative and uncooperative image.

For more than three decades the Greek Cypriot leadership, with their
economic blockade against the Turkish Cypriots have been trying to
strangle the North Cyprus state economically. The European Union’s
decision to break this economic blockade has already been obstructed
by the Greek Cypriot leadership in the south.

Trying to stop development of economic and trade relations between
Kuwait and the Turkish Republic in the North is the latest example
of their ill-conceived positions and uncompromising policies. Can,
or will, the Kuwaiti Government surrender easily to negative Greek
Cypriot pressure is the question. To stand their ground and to deliver
on their Prime Minister’s promise to open a Turkish Cypriot Trade
Mission in Kuwait City is their sovereign right and may be in their
own interests, a matter they should decide.