Turkish women entrepreneurs want the border with Armenia to open

YEREVAN, April 8, /ARKA/. The USAID-funded Enterprise Development and Market Competitiveness (EDMC) Project and the Women’s Forum non-governmental organization are holding a two-day forum in Yerevan for Armenian and Turkish businesswomen with the theme of the establishment of trade and economic relations. 

The forum aims to familiarize Turkish businesswomen with the business climate in Armenia, its tax and customs systems, the business registration processes, as well as present them with a networking opportunity in order to support the establishment of trade and economic relations between the two countries. 

The forum is being attended by guests from USAID Armenia, other international organizations, the President of the Eastern and South-Eastern Business Women ‘Dokunkad’ Association Nevin Il, the President of the Diyarbakir Chamber of Commerce and Industry Diyaeddin Gezer, as well as the President and members of Women’s Forum NGO. They encouraged the participating businesswomen 

to take advantage of the networking and direct negotiation opportunities presented by the event. 

Over 30 Armenian businesswomen are participating in the forum, representing various industries including tourism, medical cosmetology, sweets and dessert, arts and crafts, textile manufacturing, construction and the production of construction of materials. The Turkish delegation includes over 35 business women from the tourism, medicine, construction, packaging, diary production, and freight industries. 

On the first day the forum featured an exhibition of products by Armenian and Turkish businesswomen, and participants heard from the Armenian Development Agency and the Small and Medium Entrepreneurship Development National Center. The second day of the forum will be marked 

with presentations from the State Revenue Committee and business-to-business meetings with Armenian counterparts. 

‘The opening of the Armenian-Turkish border is essential for economic development of the two countries,’ said Nevin Il.

"Armenia and Turkey are neighbors and have much in common. We believe that bilateral cooperation in trade will be successful. Establishment of trade and friendly relations between Turkey and Armenia and the opening of borders are very important, "she said.

According to her, development of trade relations between countries with closed borders is extremely difficult.

"But we believe that these difficulties can be overcome. I think that trade will bring together the two peoples and lead to the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border," she said.

Diyaeddin Gezer said development of bilateral relations will be enhanced if the railroad between Turkey and Armenia resume operation.

"We will make all the efforts to push for the resumption of the operation of the railway. To this end, we have already applied to the Turkish prime minister and president, "Gezer said.

"We believe that if the border between the two countries opens Armenia’s trade with Turkey will account for about 55-60% of its overall trade," she said.

According to Armenia’s national Statistical Service, Turkish-Armenian trade in January-February 2013 was $24.8 million, increasing by 7.2 percent from a year before.

Established in May 2002, Women’s Forum is a non-governmental organization aimed to support women in entrepreneurship and leadership, enhance the creation of necessary favorable conditions for the promotion of women in social, business and professional fields, and advocate for women’s rights in different spheres of social and civil development. 

The USAID-funded Enterprise Development and Market Competitiveness (EDMC) Project seeks to improve Armenia’s business environment and support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This five-year project aims to  increase employment and income in Armenia by promoting growth in select value chains that have strong export  potential – high technologies, pharmaceuticals/biotechnologies, food processing, and hospitality.  -0-