Frontier reopening is mutually beneficial

1/arsen-ghazaryan
03:17 pm | September 11, 2009 | Politics

Arsen Ghazarian, President of the Union of Industrialists and
Entrepreneurs, welcomes the recent Protocols between Armenia and
Turkey and sees no precondition in the long-disputed documents.

"For the first time in their history Armenia and Turkey have signed a
document in which Turkey views Armenia as its partner and agrees to
the provisions of the Protocols without prerequisites," Arsen
Ghazarian said to A1+.

He is convinced that the reopening of the Armenian-Turkish frontier
will be advantageous to the whole region and Armenia will regain its
good reputation of a commercial crossroad.

Arsen Ghazarian doesn’t share the belief that after the frontier
reopening Turkish goods will fill Armenian markets and take hold of
our economic levers. "I think that things will go the other way:
Armenian products will flow to Turkey and we shall import raw
materials from Turkey. We shall have an opportunity to make
investments in our historical homeland. I am confident that tourist
centers around Lake Vana are not well developed and Armenian
businesspeople will boost tourism around the lake in a short time. We
shall drive to the centers in 2-3 hours to put a candle in Akhtamar
Island and swim in Holy Vana Lake."

To A1+’s question whether he sees any menace to Armenia after the
frontier reopening, Mr. Ghazarian said: "I see no menace as the
Protocols set no conditions. Only our National Security Services,
frontier troops and Customs House will have to keep an eye on Turkey’s
eastern parts to prevent trafficking and flow of armaments. Both
Armenia and Turkey will have to regulate these issues in the near
future."