Bichlorides

Whilst their might be a media blockade on the details of reunification talks between Dimitris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat – the leaders agreed to mutual secrecy over the ins and outs of the process – the symbolic resonance of the first of their weekly meetings cannot be ignored. The first two leaders to seriously consider the reunification potential of the island, political commentators were already excited at the prospect of Christofias joining Talat as respective head of taste before he was duly elected in January. When he beat the other Republic of Cyprus election candidates he set in motion a more rapid reconciliation of the partitioned island than it had seen since the original division in 1974. And the two leaders – who have both iterated their obligation to reunification time and again – met for 5 preliminary meetings over the last 8 months, before settling on these weekly meetings. And any sceptic’s fears that these meetings would merely pay lip service to the need for unity have essentially been put to rest, as it is reported that the first of the weekly meetings was dominated by serious discussion on the nature of power sharing for the two presidents in a unified island. That news will come as music to the ears of all those Turkish Cypriots who voted in favour of reunification in the Annan Plan Referendum of 2004 and the Greek Cypriots who voted in Dimitris Christofias on the basis of his pro-reunification and pro-community policies. So it seems that the reunification of the island is beginning in earnest. And it will bring with it booms in tourism across the island, as tourists look to utilize the natural beauty of North Cyprus in particular; the return of the unified island to the European fold will bring with it a certain trust that can only increase and indulge the tourist industry on the island and in North Cyprus. But what stands to benefit most, though, is the property industry, as property investment increases over the island. But in particular, what experts are terming the north Cyprus Property Boom will see North Cyprus property prices rise dramatically with reunification. That speculation, with power sharing now being seriously discussed, is becoming a speculative reality. So prices for property in North Cyprus – which are currently just a third of those in the Republic of Cyprus – will rise to new and impressive heights. So what is clear is that reunification is going to bring a new dawn to the divided and war torn island of Cyprus. And when it does – because that is now incredibly likely – the North Cyprus Property Boom is going to be at the forefront of that; it will feed into the economy of the island and the whole island will stand to benefit.

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