Figure It Island Talks - Cyprus

In this episode of Figure It, Sapienta Economics Director Fiona Mullen talks to Dr Mustafa Besim, Professor of Economics at Eastern Mediterranean University and Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics, about the economy of northern Cyprus, in particular the latest economic and financial protocol worth around 240 million euro signed between the Turkish Cypriot administration and Turkey. What are the protocol’s strengths, what are its weaknesses and what should be the priority for Turkish Cypriot economic policy?   

In this episode of Figure It, Sapienta Economics Director Fiona Mullen talks to Dr Nasia Hadjigeorgiou, Assistant Professor in Human Rights and Transitional Justice at the Cyprus campus of the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), about the many and often confusing figures cited by Republic of Cyprus officials about various categories of non-Cypriots: regular migrants, […]

In this seventh episode of Figure It, Sapienta Economics Director Fiona Mullen discusses recent geopolitical developments in the region with independent analyst Madalina Vicari. How significant is the EU’s application to become an observer member of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMFG)? With the Republic of Cyprus will holding the presidency of the EMGF and EMGF-member France holding the EU’s rotating presidency of the European Council in the first half of 2022, what can we expect from the EMFG? Will Turkey ever join? Are we heading for a rapprochement between Turkey and various key players in the region? And if so, what does it mean for Cyprus?

In this sixth episode of Figure It, Sapienta Economics Director Fiona Mullen discusses the famous squeaky cheese of Cyprus, known as hellim in Turkish and halloumi in Greek, with the former president of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce and current MP with the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), Fikri Toros. In April of this year the European Commission “registered Χαλλούμι/Halloumi/Hellim as a protected designation of origin (PDO)”. This means that only hellim/halloumi produced in Cyprus “according to the product specification” may now use the registered name. We also discuss the obstacles put in the way of the Green Line regulation (European Council Regulation 866/2004) and how these longstanding issues prevent intra-island trade form reaching its full potential.

In this week’s episode, Sapienta Economics Director Fiona Mullen talks about the commercial aspects of natural gas with the East Mediterranean Editor of Middle East Economic Survey (MEES), Peter Stevenson. The recent bid by US energy giant Chevron to buy out Noble Energy - the lead company in the Cyprus Aphrodite and Israeli Leviathan and Tamar fields - has been challenged by the activist investor, Elliott Management. What is the difference between the two companies and what would either company’s ownership mean for East Med gas development prospects?

In this episode of Figure It, Fiona Mullen of Sapienta Economics hosts international student Femi Obasa to discuss the large contribution of universities in northern Cyprus to the economy and to hear tips on what universities globally can do to attract and retain students in the Covid-19 age.