New ambassador to the TRNC taking up post tomorrow

Turkey's new Ambassador to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Halil Ibrahim Akca will take up his post tomorrow. State Minister and Chief European Union Talks Negotiator Egemen Bagis met with Akca on Wednesday. "Akca knows Northern Cyprus closely. He knows well the dynamics of the relations between Turkey and Turkish Cyprus and Cyprus's importance in EU negotiations," Bagis said. Akca, Turkey's former fiscal grant-maker to the TRNC, had been among the targets of demonstrations on the island due to his work drafting tight fiscal policies for Northern Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are unhappy that an economic reform program, drawn up under Ankara's guidance, calls for lower public spending, privatization and curbing the rights of trade unions, which often strike.