Gnel Sanosyan, Armenia's Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, met with his Turkish counterpart Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, Turkey's Minister of Transport and Infrastructure. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia.
The meeting took place on October 15 during the World Congress of the International Road Federation, held in Istanbul. The event gathered leading experts and government officials in the fields of transport and infrastructure from around the world.
The fact that a bilateral meeting at the ministerial level took place is a significant event in the context of Armenian-Turkish relations. While the details of the discussions have not been disclosed, the very occurrence of such a meeting may indicate efforts to promote dialogue between the two countries on the development of regional infrastructure and transportation links.
The process of normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations began at the start of 2022. The first meeting of the special representatives of Armenia and Turkey took place on January 14 in Moscow. Subsequently, the envoys held three more meetings in Vienna.
On July 1, 2022, in Vienna, Rubinyan and Kılıç agreed to facilitate the crossing of the Armenian-Turkish land border as soon as possible for third-country nationals and holders of diplomatic passports. However, these agreements have not yet been implemented.
Despite the closed border and the absence of diplomatic relations, trade between the two countries has almost never ceased in the post-Soviet period. According to the Statistical Committee of Armenia, in January-May of this year, the trade turnover between Armenia and Turkey amounted to over $131 million. Of this amount, only $225,000 accounted for Armenian exports to Turkey, while the rest represented imports of Turkish goods to Armenia.
The trade figures for the five months are only $2 million higher than the same period in 2023.
