ARMENIAN-TURKISH BUSINESS FORUM IN YEREVAN BRINGS MORE THAN 50 TURKISH ENTREPRENEURS TO YEREVAN
/ARKA/
NOVEMBER 22, 2011
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, November 22. /ARKA/. The second Armenian-Turkish business
forum kicked off today in Yerevan. The event has brought over 50
representatives of Turkish business circles from six regions of Turkey
to the Armenian capital.
Arsen Ghazarian, the chairman of the Union of Industrialists and
Entrepreneurs of Armenia, said during the first forum last year the
business people from both countries created the alliance of travel
agencies that largely contributed to the development of tourism ties
between the two countries, boosting, in particular, the pilgrimage of
Armenians to historical Armenian monuments in Turkey. He said this
year’s meeting has attracted Turkish business representatives from
six regions, including Ankara, Istanbul, Diyarbakir and Kars.
“By developing our relationship we are trying to show the Turkish
government that we can cooperate even with closed borders, and that it
is time for the Turkish authorities to understand their benefits and
approach Armenia without prejudice and without taking into account the
interests of third countries”, he said when talking to journalists.”If
the borders are open, we will be able to participate in major regional
projects and initiate joint projects. Today, Armenian goods can compete
with Turkish products in the local and Turkish markets. But today,
unfortunately, we have virtually no exports to Turkey,” he stressed.
The forum is organized by the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs
of Armenia with collaboration with USAID as part of a two-year
project designed to promote Armenian-Turkish rapprochement. A similar
gathering will be organized in 2012 October in Turkey. The partner
in the joint forum is the Turkish-Armenian Business Development
Council (TABDC). Armenian and Turkish business structures, including
associations of women entrepreneurs, will sign several memoranda
on cooperation.
Turkey and Armenia have had no diplomatic ties since Armenia became
independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. Turkey closed its border
with Armenia in 1993 in a show of support for its ally, Azerbaijan,
which had a dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, the ethnic
Armenian enclave of Azerbaijan. There are several sensitive issues
complicating the establishment of normal relations between the two
countries, particularly, Ankara’s blatant support of Azerbaijan in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution process and Turkey’s refusal to
acknowledge the mass killings of Armenians in the last years of the
Ottoman Empire as genocide.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Disclaimer: This article was contributed and translated into English by Emil Lazarian. While we strive for quality, the views and accuracy of the content remain the responsibility of the contributor. Please verify all facts independently before reposting or citing.
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