Türkiye and Armenia are resuming formal trade relations following a 33-year hiatus, announced the Turkish foreign ministry on Wednesday, 13 May. 

Goods shipped from Türkiye were previously not permitted to list Armenia as their final destination, and vice versa. This restriction has now been lifted.  

Direct trade between the two countries has been halted since 1993, when Türkiye closed the border in support of its close ally, Azerbaijan, which was at war with Armenia over disputed territory in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. As a result, goods passing between Türkiye and Armenia had to do so via Georgia. 

Goods moving from Türkiye to Armenia will still need to pass through a third country, given the absence of a functioning border crossing between the two. However, exporters would initially list the third country as the destination; a second invoice would then be issued listing the actual destination. 

Taxes were also imposed as the goods were transited through the intermediary, making their sale more expensive. 

“The bureaucratic preparations regarding the initiation of direct trade between our country and Armenia have been completed as of 11 May,” said Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Öncu Keçeli. “The necessary bureaucratic and technical work for the border between the two countries to open is still ongoing,” he added.

Turkish exports to Armenia were recorded as $2.25 million in 2024, according to the United Nations (UN) Comtrade database. This reflects a significant drop from the previous year, which brought $22.6 million in exports. The decline is attributed to logistical and reporting barriers, alongside the 2023 reescalation of the Azeri-Armenian conflict. 

The recent initiative removes the need for expensive ‘middleman’ operations in third countries, brings transparency to the countries’ bilateral trade, and is expected to be reflected in official trade data.

“We would like to emphasise that this is an important step toward the establishment of full and normalised relations between the two countries, which could logically continue through the opening of the Armenia-Turkey border and the establishment of diplomatic relations,” said Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ani Badalyan.

Last month, the two countries also agreed to jointly restore the operationalisation of the railway connecting Eastern Anatolia’s Kars and the Armenian city of Gyumri. The railway is seen as part of the ‘middle corridor’ linking South-East Asia and China to Europe. According to 2023 analysis by the World Bank, the full use of a functioning middle corridor would safeguard China-Europe supply chains and triple trade flows by 2030.