ANKARA - Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) signed a protocol on Wednesday to boost cooperation at customs-related issues and prevent smuggling.
The protocol was signed by Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen and TRNC`s Finance Minister Ahmet Uzun at the Customs Undersecretariat HQ in Ankara.
Tuzmen cited a steady increase in trade volume between Turkey and the TRNC and predicted it would reach 1 billion USD in 2007.
Tuzmen also noted that the TRNC had become a center of attraction for domestic and international investors and pledged to extend every kind of technical assistance in customs-related matters.
Turkish Cypriot Finance Minister Uzun said in his part that his country`s economy made significant progress over the last three years.
"Turkey has reached EU norms in its customs regulations and we want to take advantage of that," Uzun said.