Reception held in London, Turkish Cypriot identity and sovereignty took centre stage

On Saturday evening, 28 June, the Federation of Turkish Cypriot Associations together with Turkish Cypriot Contractors Association (KTIMB) organized a reception at the Grand Palace in North London, as part of the events surrounding the 8th Turkish Cypriot Culture Festival programme.

The reception was attended by a distinguished delegation including TRNC President Ersin Tatar and his wife Sibel Tatar, TRNC Prime Minister Ünal Üstel, TRNC Deputy Prime Minister and Tourism Minister Fikri Ataoğlu, CTP MP Fikri Toros, The Turkish Ambassador to London Osman Koray Ertaş and his wife Sevcan Ertaş, TRNC London Consul Esma Eroğlu and Mustafa Erçakıca, Turkish Cypriot Contractors Association (KTIMB) chairman Cafer Gürcafer and Taşyapı Board Chairman Emrullah Turanlı.

The CTCA president Kenan Nafi delivered the opening speech, thanking all institutions for their contributions and expressing delight at strengthening bonds between the diaspora and the homeland.

MP Fikri Toros emphasized how the event reinforced cultural roots and unity, underlining the diaspora’s connection to Turkish Cypriot identity: “…I emphasized our commitment, rooted from the past to the future, to integrate with the world”

Deputy PM Ataoğlu praised the reception’s role in strengthening a shared vision and highlighted the diaspora’s economic, cultural, and social contributions to TRNC.

Prime Minister Ünal Üstel underscored enduring solidarity based on homeland love, dignity, and resilience, rejecting economic and property pressures from the Greek side as “economic terrorism” which the Turkish Cypriots will not yield to.

President Tatar delivered a powerful statement on sovereignty: he advocated for a two‑state solution as “the most realistic path” on Cyprus, affirming that Turkish Cypriots continue to fight for their right to live freely with their identity, culture, and history intact.