Ambassador Çimen Keskin has taken up her new post as the London representative of the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC).

In her first week, she has already met with the Turkish ambassador Ümit Yalçın, and President Ayşe Osman and Vice-President Kenan Nafi of the Council of Turkish Cypriot Associations UK (CTCA).

Ambassador Keskin will also be attending CTCA’s ‘Big Family Picnic and Baby Asya fundraiser’ in Blackheath on Sunday, 29 August, where she will meet members of the British Turkish Cypriot community.

The senior Turkish Cypriot diplomat arrived in Britain a little over a fortnight ago, but due to a lack of direct flights from Ercan Airport, she flew transit via Turkey, which is on the UK Covid Red list. As a result, Ambassador Keskin was compelled to stay in a quarantine facility for 10 days when she landed at Heathrow Airport.

The appointment of the Paphos-born ambassador, who has previously served in Italy and Bahrain, was announced in February. A mother-of-one, Ambassador Keskin speaks fluent Turkish, English and Italian.

She takes over from Oya Tuncalı, who left London at the end of July after completing her third term in Britain. Mrs Tuncalı first served in the UK as Consul General from 1998 to 2001, and has done two terms as London Representative, 2012-2016, and again from 2018 to 2021.

Also new to the TRNC London office are diplomats Namık Çafer, who previously served as a TRNC Representative in Pakistan and Qatar, and İsmail Şahinoğlu, who helped facilitate British expatriates return to their homes in the TRNC when normal flights stopped because of the pandemic last year.

They join TRNC Consul General Buket Kop, who started her term in London in December 2018.

Main image, top, (L-R) 2nd Secretary Namık Cafer, CTCA Vice-President Kenan Nafi, Ambassador Çimen Keskin, CTCA President Ayşe Osman, TRNC Consul General Buket Kop, 3rd Secretary İsmail Şahinoğlu. Photo © CTCA