Minister IŞIKHAN met with Oğuzhan HASİPOĞLU, Minister of Labour and Social Security of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)

Minister of Labour and Social Security Prof. Dr. Vedat IŞIKHAN hosted Oğuzhan HASİPOĞLU, Minister of Labour and Social Security of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Minister IŞIKHAN and Minister HASİPOĞLU held both one-to-one and delegation meetings and signed an agreement for the development of cooperation between Türkiye and TRNC.

Minister of Labour and Social Security Prof. Dr. Vedat IŞIKHAN started his speech by congratulating the 42nd anniversary of the establishment of TRNC on the occasion of 15 November Republic Day and said: "Last week, our President H.E. Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN hosted Mr Tufan ERHÜRMAN, who recently took office as the 6th President of the TRNC, in Ankara as part of his first foreign visit. I would also like to express our pleasure that my esteemed brother, Mr Minister, is making his first foreign visit to our country today after taking office. On this occasion, I wish him success in his new position as Minister of Labour and Social Security, to which he has recently been appointed, and I firmly believe that we will have a productive and result-oriented working period together."

Our Priority Goal is to Strengthen the TRNC

Minister Işıkhan stated that they consider securing the existence, freedom and future of the Turkish People in Cyprus, raising their welfare level and strengthening the TRNC with all its institutions and organisations as a priority goal, and continued his words as follows: "In this context, we consider that the TRNC's joining the Organisation of Turkic States as an observer member is an extremely important development. While we endeavour to resolve the Cyprus issue in the political arena, we are simultaneously undertaking the necessary efforts for the development of the TRNC".

A Joint Working Commission will be established

Reminding that thanks to the Cooperation Agreement in force in the past period, important cooperation and experience sharing was carried out between the units of the Turkish and TRNC Ministries of Labour and Social Security, Minister IŞIKHAN said: "With the term of the agreement expiring, there was a need to put our co-operation into a new legal framework. I am very pleased to sign this new Agreement prepared with the meticulous work of our technical teams. I would like to thank our colleagues from both Ministries who carried out these technical works. The new agreement we will sign today also envisages the establishment of a Joint Labour Commission between our Ministries."

‘The New Agreement Will Make Great Contributions to Social Security’

Minister IŞIKHAN emphasised that it would be appropriate to prepare a new action plan by convening the Joint Working Commission after the entry into force of the agreement in order to proceed by binding the existing cooperation to a concrete schedule and continued his speech as follows: "Action plans further strengthen our cooperation by paving the way for joint projects to be carried out in areas such as exchange of experts, exchange of information and experience, employment and vocational training. We will follow the processes in order for our relations to continue to strengthen in the coming period. I strongly believe that the cooperation between our ministries will make great contributions to the protection and development of the rights of citizens of both countries in the fields of labour and social security."