ANKARA - Kuwaiti businessmen were eager to take steps to make investments in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Turkish Cypriots could open a trade office in Kuwait, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan cited his Kuwaiti counterpart Nasir Al-Muhammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah as saying at a joint press conference in Ankara on Wednesday.
"Mr. Prime Minister heralded prospective steps to be taken by Kuwaiti businessmen to invest in the TRNC and he said that Turkish Cypriots can open a trade office in Kuwait," Erdogan noted.
"This came as a nice coincidence as TRNC President Mehmet Ali Talat will be in Ankara this evening. Establishing a Turkish Cypriot trade office in Kuwait, after one in Oman and another in Qatar, is a good sign that countries in the Gulf take this issue very seriously," Erdogan added.
Erdogan also cited broad agreement over designating Istanbul as the location for a meeting where Iraq, its neighbors, UN Security Council members and the G-8 countries are expected to come together to find a way out of the chaotic situation in Iraq.
"I have talked about the issue with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on the sidelines of the Arab League summit and we have been awaiting a response," Erdogan said.