Opening of Border with Turkey is an Opportunity, Not a Threat for Armenia's Economy: Keryan

The opening of the land border with Turkey is not a threat but an opportunity for Armenia's economy. This was stated by Minister of Economy Vahan Keryan in an interview with Sputnik Armenia, commenting on the possible implications of the border opening for the Armenian economy.

“The border with Turkey has long been open in terms of imports. Turkish producers have no problem selling their products in Armenia, and they have been doing so for quite some time. The issue is that Armenian companies still do not have access to the Turkish market, and we are confident that the opening of the border presents more opportunities than threats,” said Keryan.

However, he noted that in order to take advantage of this opportunity, Armenian companies must be able to increase their productivity and efficiency. “To be uneducated, excuse my bluntness, to have low productivity, and to hope that the government should protect them with artificial barriers is unacceptable. That is unnatural, and if we do so, we are harming the interests of consumers,” Keryan commented, responding to our observation about the low cost of Turkish goods, especially agricultural products.

The Minister of Economy also emphasized that the government has received no concerns from Armenian agricultural companies regarding the import of cheap Turkish agricultural products. When asked what Armenia can export to Turkey, Keryan replied that there are many sectors in demand in Turkey: food, textiles, jewelry, diamond processing, and also high technologies.

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