Opportunities to enhance business synergies between the two countries discussed during a meeting at TEPAV, organized in the scope of the Support to the Armenia-Turkey Normalisation Process program.

ANKARA – A meeting entitled “Strengthening Connections and Business Synergies between Turkey and Armenia” was held at TEPAV on Friday, February 13, 2015. Organized in the scope of the EU funded Support to the Armenia-Turkey Normalisation Process program implemented by a consortium of eight organizations including TEPAV, the meeting hosted a debate on economic potential and cooperation opportunities between the two countries.

The meeting was opened by TEPAV Project Coordinator Ussal Şahbaz. In his presentation, Şahbaz shared with the audience findings of a report prepared by TEPAV to assess the economic potential that normalization could create. Stressing that Turkey was 39^th biggest export market for Armenia currently, Şahbaz said that normalization could enhance Armenian exports by 10 percent. He stressed that complementarities between the two economies were little and concentrated more in Istanbul, and pointed at ICT and tourism as key sectors for cooperation.

Richard Giragosian, Executive Director of Yerevan-based consortium partner Regional Studies Center, stated that for Armenia normalization was more important than ever since Armenian economy was affected by the global economic crisis as well as the sanctions on Russia, the biggest economic partner of the country. Giragosian went on to say that strengthening exports to Armenia could support development across Eastern Anatolia. He stressed that despite impediments including Azerbaijan, he was optimistic about the possibility of normalization.

“G20 will be more Effective Now”

Giragosian, touching upon the role of international organizations in the process, highlighted the importance of G20 and said, “G20 will be more effective because Turkey wants it to be more effective. International organizations are what their members make it.” He stressed that he was optimistic about the process of normalization which is currently in suspension and added:

“I am optimistic because this whole process of engagement between Armenia and Turkey was never supposed to be that easy or that quick. But look at how far we have come. Just the fact that we are here today, TEPAV is looking at these issues; our think-tank is working with partners in Turkey. This is demonstrable progress. And both sides have gone too far to go back.”

German Marshall Fund Ankara Office Director Özgür Ünlühisarcıklı stated that in the process of normalization, Turkey had to decouple relations with Armenia from those with the diaspora. As a second point, he stressed the decoupling of normalization from agreeing on history and that normalization could facilitate the solution of the latter. Stressing that economic cooperation between Turkey and Armenia was not the objective but a facilitator or normalization, Ünlühisarcıklı proposed a regional rather than bilateral perspective on the Turkey-Armenia economic cooperation.