Speaking at the opening of the ceremony of the exhibition held under the auspices of the Prime Ministry, President Ersin Tatar stated that he always remembers the past when visiting İstanbul, the days he was serving as the chairperson of the Cyprus Turkish Cultural Association in İstanbul, when he used to participate in similar events and attend similar beneficial meetings, adding that they “used to speak about issues related to the future of Cyprus 30 years ago”. 

President Tatar said: "We have made much progress in 30 years.  Work is continuing to change the face of the TRNC, strengthen its economy and increase its prosperity."

Noting that "big ideas" and projects for the TRNC came to life with the support of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Türkiye,  President Tatar said: “These big ideas include the undersea water pipeline project that transports 75 million m3 of clean water per annum to the Geçitköy dam, and other major investments in infrastructure and communication.”

President Tatar said: "With the introduction of the electricity interconnection cable between Türkiye and the TRNC in the forthcoming period, a different era will start."

Stating that they are “working day and night to implement the projects within the scope of the Economic and Financial Cooperation protocols signed between Türkiye and TRNC”, and noting that these are being continued “despite the pandemic that shook the world, the Ukrainian-Russian war and the February 6, 2023 devastating earthquakes in Türkiye,” President Tatar said: "The future is about our perseverance and struggle and determination to pass on  a TRNC worthy of us to future generations.”

Stating that the Turkish Cypriot People had headed to Anatolia to take part in the national struggle of the Turkish nation that was being led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, President Tatar added  that “Turkish Cypriots, were themselves oppressed by the British administration at the time, but many headed to Anatolia and took part in the war in Çanakkale”.

In reference to the Cyprus issue, President Tatar stated that he is putting forward a new vision and position for a settlement that is based on the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot People, adding: “A settlement in Cyprus needs to be realistic and sustainable, which is possible through a new basis that is based on the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot People.  We will not invest in the failed and exhausted federal basis, which the Greek Cypriot People rejected many times over several decades including in the Annan Plan in the separately held simultaneous referenda in April 2004, and again caused the collapse of the process in Crans-Montana in July 2017. It is time to open a new page for Cyprus, where the two States coexist in good neighbourly relations in a cooperative relationship.”

President Tatar stated that the Turkish Cypriot People were expelled from the state apparatus by force of arms in December 1963 from the partnership Republic of Cyprus, because of the Greek Cypriot Side’s aspiration to unite Cyprus with Greece.  We have since December 1963 been governing ourselves as a state. The right to establish our own state 60 years ago was a right that we exercised under the circumstances.”

The President explained that the Turkish Cypriot People were subjected to island-wide attacks for 11 years, and that following the Greek coup d’etat in 1974 and the declaration of the ‘Hellenic Republic of Cyprus’, Türkiye exercised her obligation as a guarantor power and undertook the Cyprus Peace Operation that stopped the bloodshed.”

President Tatar stated that the TRNC was proclaimed in 1983 and continues to exist as the symbol of the sovereignty of the Turkish Cypriot People. He explained that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made historic calls during his addresses at the UN General Assembly, where he called upon the international community to end the persecution and isolation of the Turkish Cypriot People, and to formally recognise the TRNC.

Stating that this was a historic moment for the TRNC, President Tatar stated that the TRNC was accepted as an observer member in November 2022 to the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS). He added that he has since visited Baku, Azerbaijan, where he was received by President İlham Aliyev, and said he has also been invited to another summit of the OTS to be held in Shusha, Azerbaijan, in July.

Prime Minister Ünal Üstel, the Vice President of the Republic of Türkiye Cevdet Yılmaz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Environment Fikri Ataoğlu, Minister of Public Works and Transportation Erhan Arıklı and Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to Lefkoşa Metin Feyzioğlu also attended the opening of the exhibition in Istanbul. After the speeches, the iftar program started, where Cypriot delicacies were served.