Post by Bozur on Mar 6, 2008 13:58:36 GMT -5
06/03/2008 13:50 / NICOSIA, March 6 (AFP)
Unity would be financial boon for Cypriots: study
An end to the three-decade division of Cyprus would yield a peace dividend of at least 1.8 billion euros a year in new business opportunities with Turkey, according to a study issued on Thursday.
A report by the Cyprus branch of the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo said each Cypriot family stood to gain an extra 5,500 euros a year from reunification.
This is 20 percent of the average income in the wealthier Greek Cypriot south of the island and 40 percent of the average Turkish Cypriot income.
Hopes of ending the 34-year division have gathered pace after the February election of Cyprus President Demetris Christofias who has agreed to hold talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.
The PRIO report took the thaw between traditional foes Greece and Turkey -- in the aftermath of earthquake diplomacy in 1999 -- as a template for the divided Mediterranean island.
"Part of the difficulty of reaching a solution in Cyprus has been the inability to project strongly the positive elements of what an agreement would mean the day, the month, the years after it is signed," UN chief of mission Michael Moller said during the report's presentation.
"We need to make clear that the peace dividend will accrue to all Cypriots following a solution, benefits will impact their daily lives in very concrete ways, including their pockets."
The island has been divided along ethnic lines since Turkish troops invaded in 1974 in response to a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at union with Greece.
A UN peace blueprint failed after Greek Cypriots led by former president Tassos Papadopoulos rejected the plan although it was overwhelmingly endorsed by Turkish Cypriots in referendums in April 2004. One month later a divided island joined the European Union.
According to a team of Cyprus-based economists, in the first seven years of reunification Cyprus would gain from tourism, construction, real estate, education, exports and foreign investment.
The study estimates that Cyprus would receive 700 million euros a year in tourism business, including 385 million euros from Turkey.
Some 618 million euros would also come in additional trade in goods and services with Turkey. Ankara has no economic or political ties with the internationally-recognised Greek Cypriot government and refuses Cyprus traffic into its ports and airports, despite an EU obligation to do so.
Researchers say Greece and Turkey have enjoyed a financial windfall after a sudden thaw in diplomatic relations.
Greece is now among the top 10 investors in Turkey, while Turkey has become the fastest growing tourist market for Greece, the PRIO study said.
Unity would be financial boon for Cypriots: study
An end to the three-decade division of Cyprus would yield a peace dividend of at least 1.8 billion euros a year in new business opportunities with Turkey, according to a study issued on Thursday.
A report by the Cyprus branch of the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo said each Cypriot family stood to gain an extra 5,500 euros a year from reunification.
This is 20 percent of the average income in the wealthier Greek Cypriot south of the island and 40 percent of the average Turkish Cypriot income.
Hopes of ending the 34-year division have gathered pace after the February election of Cyprus President Demetris Christofias who has agreed to hold talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.
The PRIO report took the thaw between traditional foes Greece and Turkey -- in the aftermath of earthquake diplomacy in 1999 -- as a template for the divided Mediterranean island.
"Part of the difficulty of reaching a solution in Cyprus has been the inability to project strongly the positive elements of what an agreement would mean the day, the month, the years after it is signed," UN chief of mission Michael Moller said during the report's presentation.
"We need to make clear that the peace dividend will accrue to all Cypriots following a solution, benefits will impact their daily lives in very concrete ways, including their pockets."
The island has been divided along ethnic lines since Turkish troops invaded in 1974 in response to a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at union with Greece.
A UN peace blueprint failed after Greek Cypriots led by former president Tassos Papadopoulos rejected the plan although it was overwhelmingly endorsed by Turkish Cypriots in referendums in April 2004. One month later a divided island joined the European Union.
According to a team of Cyprus-based economists, in the first seven years of reunification Cyprus would gain from tourism, construction, real estate, education, exports and foreign investment.
The study estimates that Cyprus would receive 700 million euros a year in tourism business, including 385 million euros from Turkey.
Some 618 million euros would also come in additional trade in goods and services with Turkey. Ankara has no economic or political ties with the internationally-recognised Greek Cypriot government and refuses Cyprus traffic into its ports and airports, despite an EU obligation to do so.
Researchers say Greece and Turkey have enjoyed a financial windfall after a sudden thaw in diplomatic relations.
Greece is now among the top 10 investors in Turkey, while Turkey has become the fastest growing tourist market for Greece, the PRIO study said.