TURKISH-ARMENIAN FRIENDSHIP WILL IMPROVE WITH TRADE

Vice-president of the Turkish-Armenian Business Council, Noyan Soyak is looking ahead with hope. He has reasons to feel so. Even the process of setting-up this organization, where he is an executive now, is in itself a cause to be optimistic about the future of Turkish-Armenian relations.

TURKISHTiME: You are one of the founding members of the Turkish-Armenian Business Council. How did you get the idea of setting-up such a council?

NOYAN SOYAK: My brother Kaan Soyak, who is the co-president of the Council, together with me, own and manage a maritime company that provides logistic services. We have been involved in business with Russia since 1990 and in the USA since 1994.The USA administration has humanitarian aid cargos and they open bids for the transportation of these. Our company participated in the bids for Middle Asia. They were destinations like Azerbaijan and Armenia. Taking these bids, we started transportation to Armenia too. We had to carry the cargo to the interior of the country.

So, we met our Armenian partners. We were doing the business being an American company but soon the Armenians found out that it was we the Turks who were behind the company.

During the presidency of Levon Ter Petrosyan, government officials invited us for a negotiation. The elder brother of Petrosyan, Telman Ter Petrosyan, suggested that we establish a business council between the Turkish and Armenian businessmen. Thinking this was going to be very fruitful, we accepted and established the council in 1997. The Co-president of the council in Armenia is Arsen Ghazarian.

Mr. Telman died after two months of the establishment of the Council, and soon after that Levon Ter Petrosyan left the Presidency. But we pursued the work we had started with our Armenian partners.

Even though the Turkish-Armenian relations were not very friendly and have a negative influence on our activities, we completed the fifth year and have come a long way.

How did you manage this despite the lack of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia?

The first step we took to improve the relations was to meet Turkish and Armenian businessmen, who were using Georgian and Iranian businessmen as intermediaries. Later on, these Turkish and Armenian businessmen opened up an office in Georgia. We have close relations with the Foreign Economic Relations Board (FERB) and the Eurasia Business Council but we cannot be a member of FERB since there is no diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Our council is established under the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Business Council and we receive substantial support from them.

Our board of directors consists of eight members. They can take decisions, reaching each other at any time. Then, there is a big group of volunteers of Turkish and Armenians, working under the board of directors. Also, there is another group of 1500 people whom we communicate with through e-mails. Up to today, we have organised everything from concerts, excursions to conferences etc. but the business.

You could not do business, because the Turkish-Armenian trade route takes place through Georgia and Iran. What is the cost of this to Turkey and Armenia?

Trade taking place through Georgia and Iran is costly for both sides. It costs a truck, $3,000 including official and unofficial expenses, to go to Armenia through Georgia. But, it is only 55 km from Kars to Yerevan.

The total volume of trade from Turkey to Armenia through Georgia is $35-40 million and through Iran, it is $30-35 million. This totals about $70 million.

Potatoes growing in Iğdır, goes to Georgia for TL75,000/kg . And it is sold for TL400,000/kg at the Yerevan market place. The President of the Chamber of Commerce of Iğdır says: “Open up the border gates so we could sell potatoes for TL100,000/kg to them directly and they would buy it paying at the most TL150,000/kg.Thus both sides will gain.

Considering that a total trade volume of $70 million, this is not a highly important market for the Turkish economy, but….

The problem is not the Armenian market only. At the same time, Armenia is the bridge, connecting Turkey to Middle Asia. The Kars-Yerevan railway is the only railway that connects Turkey to Middle Asia. This railway was actively working until 1993. It can be activated again with a $40 million investment.