Frontier reopening is mutually beneficial
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."
