Erivan- TEPAV Director Prof. Dr. Güven Sak underlined that there is a linkage between cross-border economic relations and regional development and said "Cross-border economic relations regional disparities among clusters can be tackled, which will be beneficial for all." 

TEPAV and the American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia (AmCham) hosted a panel discussion on 12 February on "Turkish-Armenian Relations and Cross-Border Regionalism." In the meeting which was participated by Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, U.S. Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch among others, TEPAV Director Prof. Güven Sak delivered the keynote presentation titled: "Turkey's Regional Integration: is it Economic Transformation or Shift of Axis?". 

In his presentation, Sak put emphasis on the neighborhood in period of crises. Sak maintained that TEPAV carries out projects to support the private sector in reaching out neighboring countries, designs private sector driven regional development projects, establishes business dialogue mechanisms and develops joint initiatives to support regional development and cross-border cooperation. 

Sak stressed that it is of great importance to simplify border crossings and rehabilitate existing transportation networks in order to improve trade in Caucasus 

Underlining that private sector development in the region should be considered as a key component of the regional transformation process, Sak stated that this is not only the responsibility of governments but communication among businessman operating in those regions also has critical importance. 

Sak maintained that cross-border economic relations would eliminate disparities among provinces, which will be good for 

The panel discussion hold in Yerevan was attended by by representatives of major business associations, international organizations, diplomatic missions, and the Government of Armenia. 

TEPAV in Armenia...

A TEPAV delegation including Prof. Güven Sak, Prof. Erol Taymaz, Dr Burcu Gültekin Punsmann and Mezenef Hatam visited Yerevan on 10-13 February, 2010 for a series of events the abovementioned panel discussion among them. In the context of this fact-finding mission, sponsored by GMF Turkey, a workshop, which brought together NGOs on regional development and donor organizations, was organized on 11 February by the World Bank Yerevan office. The delegation convened with Russian businessmen in another meeting hold in Russian Embassy and with officials from the EU in the EU office.

[Link] http://armenia.usembassy.gov/news021210.html

[Link] http://www.amcham.am/