Political Leaders and Business Communities of Akhalkalaki and Kars Looking towards Karzakhi – Cildir/Aktas Border Crossing
1-3 June businessmen and political leaders from the city of Kars in Eastern Turkey and Akhaltsike, Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda (Samtskhe-Javakheti, Georgia) met to discuss how to improve the economic relations between the border regions of Georgia and Turkey. During the two-day visit the delegation from Samtskhe-Javakheti met with the Mayor of Kars Mr. Naif Alibeyoglu , the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kars, Mr. Ali Guvensoy and private Turkish businessmen. The program also included excursions to the industrial area of Kars and the ancient town of Ani.
The visit to Kars was organized by Burcu Gultekin, Europe Coordinator for the Turkish- Armenian Business Development Council (TABDC, Turkey-Armenia) and Mikael Hertoft, Program Manager in Javakheti for the European Centre for Minority Issues (Georgia), in cooperation with the mayor of Kars, Naif Alibeyoglu and the mayor of Akhalkalaki, Nair Iritsyan. The mayor of Kars kindly hosted the delegation.
Kars, historically known as Serhat Kars, lost its status of border city and became one of the easternmost provinces in Turkey in 1993 when direct land communications with Armenia were severed and Dogukapi/Akhourian gate, the official border post between Turkey and the Soviet Union was sealed. Akhalkalaki, the centre of Javakheti, an advanced post in Soviet times, used to be a closed area. Today, the area, suffering from its remoteness, condemned by its very poor infrastructure, is one of the poorest regions in Georgia, where the predominantly ethnic-Armenian population is virtually cut-off from the rest of Georgia, physically and economically.
Akhalkalaki is located at 35 km from Armenia and 30 km from Turkey; whereas Kars is at 70 km from both Armenia and Georgia. The opening of the Karzakhi-Cildir/Aktas border crossing will place Akhalkalaki at one hour distance from Kars; therefore put the most remote regions of Turkey and Georgia in a central position. The issue has been on the agenda of the Turkish and Georgian governments for several years, and has been handled in the last Turkish-Georgian Joint Economic Commission. The Posof-Vale border post linking Ardahan and Akhaltsike had a limited economic impact: the Ilgar pass on the Turkish side and the poor condition of the road between Vale and Akhaltsike on the Georgian side acted as a deterrent.
During the meetings, business communities and political leaders of Kars and Akhalkalaki investigated the new source of income and ways to increase the amount of workplaces based on cross-border trade, joint investment and marketing projects and the development of regional tourism. It is therefore of importance to improve the conditions for economic cooperation. A first step should be to open up a border station – the third between Georgia and Turkey – on the road between Kars and Akhalkalaki, between Karzakhi (Georgia) and Cildir/Aktas (Turkey). This will require a rehabilitation of the Akhalkalaki – Karzakhi road.
Kars is looking forward to becoming a gate to the Caucasus with its opening up on Georgia. Javakheti has started looking beyond the border towards Turkey to create a new economic base to support livelihoods. Samtskhe-Javakheti region and Eastern Anatolia can be as integrated as Adjaria and the Turkish Black Sea region. Furthermore, the Karzakhi border crossing will, as Sarpi did, open a transit trade route to Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The members of the Samtskhe-Javakheti delegation and their Turkish counterparts expressed a strong support to the Georgian and Turkish governments in their efforts to open the border post and improve infrastructures. Local actors at both sides of the border are placing great amount of interest and hope in the Millenium Challenge Georgia project for the renovation of road connection between the Turkish border, Akhalkalaki and Tbilisi
The businessmen and political representatives from Kars and Samtskhe-Javakheti agreed to meet again in Akhalkalaki in the nearest future to discuss further cooperation. The mayor of Kars expressed a wish that the delegation from Turkey could travel to Georgia over the border crossing at Karzakhi. He expressed the wish that the border crossing be opened specially on the occasion of the follow-on visit.
Borderlands, where Turkish, Georgian and Armenian identities and culture intermingle can be placed at the heart of the Caucasian communication hub.
This article was written by Dr. Burcu Gültekin, Europe Coordinator for the Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council (TABDC) and Mikael Hertoft, Program Manager in Javakheti for the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI).
News Source: TABDC News File
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