CONFERENCE ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF OPENING THE ARMENIA-TURKEY BORDER TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN

ArmRadio.am
26.10.2006 16:10

The Armenian International Policy Research Group (AIPRG) is organizing
an international conference on "The Economic and Social Consequences
of Opening the Armenia-Turkey Border". The conference is to be held
on January 13-14, 2007 in Yerevan, Armenia.

The border between Armenia and Turkey has been closed since 1993. In
recent years, there has been increased pressure both external and
internal to open the border and normalize bilateral relations.

The conference will bring together researchers, policymakers,
international organizations, and other stakeholders to examine the
potential benefits and costs of opening the border and normalizing
relations between Armenia and Turkey. The conference aims to provide
the policymakers and general public with a comprehensive analysis
about potential benefits and costs of border opening.

There will be a specific focus on the following areas: static
implications of opening the border, dynamic implications of opening
the border, distributional consequences of opening the border,
trade creation versus trade diversion, relative competitiveness and
infant-industry protection, regional labor markets, migration, and
remittances, the role of the public sector, implications for other
nations in the region, lessons from other border opening/political
normalization experiences. There will be several high-profile
participants from Armenia and the rest of the world including the two
keynote Speakers, Yegor Gaydar, Russia’s First Prime Minister and the
Director of the Transformation Economy Institute; and Gary Hufbauer,
Senior Economist at the Institute of International Economics and
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for State of International Trade
and Investment Policy, USA Treasury.

The conference is co-sponsored by USAID, Eurasia Foundation and the
UK Embassy in Armenia.