It is our great pleasure to announce and invite you to our 2nd International Conference on “The Cyprus Issues: Past, Present and The Vision for the Future” which will be held on 1-3 April, 2019 at Near East University, Nicosia, Northern Cyprus. Our first conference was held in 1997, and it was completed with great achievements.
The main aim of organising this conference back in 1997 and now re-visiting this subject in 2019 is to discuss all issues that are directly and indirectly related to the reunification of Cyprus and peace in the Mediterranean region. Cyprus is the last divided country in the European Union and until now, every single step has been taken in order to bring peace to the island and ensure that citizen peace-making takes place in Cyprus.
Turkey, as one of the guarantors of Cyprus alongside Greece and the United Kingdom, has been trying to bring peace to the island by providing political stability. Peace in Cyprus and throughout the entire Mediterranean region should be the first priority in the political strategy of each country located within this region. In order to achieve peace in the Mediterranean region, Turkey has developed 4 water-related projects over the last 30 years. Although several water projects were planned by Turkey to develop cooperation with its neighbours by supplying drinking water, they have largely been unsuccessful until the most recent attempt.
Turkey first conceived the idea of providing fresh water to other countries in the region under then Prime Minister, Turgut Özal. The objective of this plan was to supply water to Israel and Arab states through pipelines filled with water from southern Turkish rivers, and was titled “Water for Peace”, which would contribute to peace throughout the Middle East. Turkey’s most recent project is the Water Pipeline Project from Turkey to Cyprus, which was completed and made operational in 2015. Turkey claims that these efforts effectively use water as a peace-building resource in this very unstable region. This year, we are expecting to receive keynote speakers and participants who are predominantly from academia, EU institutions and representatives of political parties from both communities.
Therefore, we would like to take this opportunity and welcome many scientists, decision-makers and politicians from different countries who have different views on the issue to discuss the political problems related to the topic. The effects of climate change in the near future will also be discussed during this conference, since water scarcity is increasing in parallel to the limited access to fresh water experienced by an increasing number of people and it has and will have a direct impact on international politics.
Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Gökçekuş
President of the Conference
Dean, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering Near East University
For More detailed information please find our recent catalog here