A boost for trade on Cyprus
NICOSIA (AFP) – The Cypriot government agreed yesterday to allow Turkish-Cypriot goods vehicles to enter the south in a bid to encourage greater trade between the island’s separated communities. It was one of three measures agreed by the Cabinet to foster confidence between the two sides and promote greater freedom of movement for Turkish Cypriots crossing the island’s UN-patrolled ceasefire line. «The new law provides for issuing trucks with a permit to transport goods and to facilitate internal trade,» government spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides told reporters. Tens of thousands of people from both sides of the island have visited their former homes since the Turkish-Cypriot leadership lifted travel restrictions on April 23. But the travel ban on commercial vehicles remained in place. The government also agreed to scrap the 15-pound (25.50-euro) fine for late birth registrations hundreds of Turkish Cypriots have had to pay, and to review the 10-pound (17-euro) daily insurance cover for Turkish-Cypriot motorists, which was seen as prohibitive.
