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ISTANBUL: Reopening of Turkey-Armenia border will develop each other

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  • ISTANBUL: Reopening of Turkey-Armenia border will develop each other

    Today's Zaman, Turkey
    Nov 2 2014

    Reopening of Turkey-Armenia border will develop each other's economies

    November 02, 2014, Sunday/ 00:39:59/ OSMAN Ã`NALAN / ISTANBUL


    A number of business chambers, think tanks, civil society
    organizations and journalists believe that the opening of the
    Turkish-Armenian border will help the economic development of the
    people living in Armenia and the eastern provinces of Turkey.

    A group of Turkish and Armenian journalists and bloggers who travelled
    across Turkey and Armenia via Georgia between Oct. 13 and 26 in order
    to gain firsthand insight into their neighbors say the closed border
    between Turkey and Armenia is negatively affecting relations between
    the two countries, advocating the reopening of the border, which will
    improve the process of normalization.

    While hosting the Armenian and Turkish journalists, Fethiye Chamber of
    Commerce and Industry (FTSO) President Akif Arıcan said trade is one
    of the main signs of peace between countries. Speaking to the group,
    Arıcan said opening the border will help the Turkish-Armenian
    normalization process. Trade between Armenia and Turkey is conducted
    via Georgia or Iran, Arıcan added. When asked by an Armenian
    journalist about direct trade between the two countries, Arıcan said
    FTSO may ask the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges
    (TOBB) to initiate this process with the Turkish government.

    Giving a presentation on "Support for the Armenia-Turkey Normalization
    Process," Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV)
    Managing Director Güven Sak said there are good steps taken toward
    normalization, which is very important for the economic development of
    the eastern provinces of Turkey. As soon as diplomatic relations
    between the two governments improve, the Caucasus region can be a good
    environment for businessmen of Turkey to access China via Armenia and
    Azerbaijan, Sak added.

    According to the study `Armenian-Turkish Business Relations through
    the Eyes of Business Opinion Leaders' in 2011, trade between the two
    countries takes place through a roundabout way via Georgia and Iran.
    The invoice is issued in Georgia as companies in Turkey are not
    authorized to make an invoice with an Armenian address. In addition to
    large-scale merchandise and products, shuttle trade is quite a visible
    activity between Turkey and Armenia. There are no records in official
    Turkish statistical publications regarding trade with Armenia.
    According to unofficial estimates by the Turkish side, trade volume
    between the two countries is $150-200 million.

    According to data from the National Statistical Service of the
    Republic of Armenia as of January 2011, imports from Turkey to Armenia
    amounted to $98 million while exports from Armenia to Turkey amounted
    to $551,000.

    The most profitable import items from Turkey to Armenia in 2009 were
    metals and items made of metal, various types of textile, wood and
    wood items, soap, cleaning and hygienic items, lotions and other
    cosmetic items, aluminum and aluminum items, electrical machinery and
    appliances, recording devices and their parts, glass and glassware,
    furniture and ceramics.

    The most profitable import items from Armenia to Turkey were aluminum
    and aluminum items, raw hide and processed leather, railroad
    equipment, textile and clothing items, except machine and hand
    embroidery and tapestries.

    Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with
    Azerbaijan after Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of
    Azerbaijan in 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region. In 2009,
    the Zurich Protocols to normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia
    were signed but not ratified, and the border remains closed.

    Opening closed Armenia-Turkey border may help stability in
    conflict-prone South Caucasus

    Commenting on Turkish-Armenian economic relations to Sunday's Zaman,
    Richard Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center (RSC), an
    independent think tank in Yerevan, told Sunday's Zaman that opening
    its closed border with Armenia would constitute a new strategic
    opportunity for Turkey to galvanize economic activity in the
    impoverished eastern regions of the country, which could play a key
    role in the economic stabilization of the already restive
    Kurdish-populated eastern regions, thus meeting a significant national
    security imperative of combating the root causes of Kurdish separatism
    and countering the appeal of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) with
    economic opportunity.

    Giragosian claims that the opening of the closed Armenian-Turkish
    border can not only bring about a crucial breakthrough in fostering
    trade links and economic relations but may also serve as an impetus to
    bolster broader stability and security throughout the conflict-prone
    South Caucasus.

    According to a Eurasia Partnership Foundation's Caucasus Research
    Resource Centers (CRRC) public survey with around 2,000 respondents in
    Armenia in 2010, 45 percent of Armenians see no problem doing business
    with Turks. The same survey also found that only 34 percent of
    Armenians approve of friendship with Turks.

    http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_reopening-of-turkey-armenia-border-will-develop-each-others-economies_363261.html

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