There is progress in efforts to reconnect the electricity systems between the southern government controlled areas of the Republic and the island’s northern Turkish occupied part, Leonidas Paschalides, senior director at the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has told CNA.
Paschalides added that there is progress on technical work needed for the reconnection, mainly concerning infrastructure.
For the time being, he said, there will be two connections of electricity grids between the two areas.
On efforts to link mobile telephony, he said that a short term solution – until the settlement of the Cyprus problem – is to ensure that mobile telecommunication can function both when Greek Cypriots are in the Turkish occupied areas and also when Turkish Cypriots are in the government controlled areas.
The decision to reconnect electricity grids and link mobile telephony networks in the southern government-controlled areas of Cyprus and in the northern Turkish occupied part of the country was taken by Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci in May as part of the Confidence Building Measures.
The Republic of Cyprus has been divided since the Turkish invasion in 1974. Turkey still occupies 37% of Cyprus` territory. UN led talks resumed in May in an effort to reunify the island under a federation system.