Figure It Island Talks - Cyprus

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. 



Fikri Toros – CTP MP and former President of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce

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?



This week’s guest – Peter Stevenson: https://www.mees.com/author/peter-stevenson

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. 

In this week’s episode Sapienta Economics Director Fiona Mullen and gender technical specialist Sophia Papastavrou discuss why gender equality is good for profits, why pandemics are always so tough on women, and what research says about finding a peace agreement that will actually stick.







Dr. Sophia Papastavrou is a citizen of Canada and Cyprus and spent her formative years in Dominican Republic and Ghana before immigrating to Canada. She holds the role of Gender Technical Specialist with a humanitarian organization and recently received her Ph.D. in Social Justice Education at the University of Toronto. Her dissertation entitled: Women’s Organizations for Peace: Moving Beyond the Rhetoric of the Cyprus Problem was the result of over 7 years of field research on the island. She has previously worked with the OSCE Mission to Croatia, the World Bank, and the United Nations, World Vision International and World Vision Canada. Sophia was a speaker at TEDx Nicosia Women in 2015 and recently, worked with women’s civil society to co- create the first White Book of Best Practice on UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in Cyprus. She was selected as part of the She-Experts initiative by the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (MIGS) aiming to enhance the visibility and impact of women in their professional capacity. She is a member of the Mediterranean Women’s Mediation Network & Women, Peace Security Network -Canada. Geographical expertise: Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa, South East Asia.

In this week’s episode I talk to fellow economist Professor Mustafa Besim about economic issues in Cyprus. With the lockdown hitting small business and households, we compare notes about the economic policy response on both sides of the island and discuss how effective they can be.