By Bosphorus News Economy Desk
An 82-member business delegation from Türkiye's eastern province of Van traveled about 22 hours through Georgia to reach Yerevan after a hoped-for direct crossing failed to materialize, renewing calls for the Türkiye-Armenia land border to open to regular trade.
The Van Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Van TSO) and the Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia (UMBA) issued a joint statement following meetings in Yerevan on September 3 and 4. The two groups called for the border gates to open, crossings to become easier and transport links between the neighboring countries to improve.
Nearly 80 business representatives from Van took part in the Yerevan program, holding meetings with Armenian companies on trade, investment and possible joint ventures. Tourism, logistics, agriculture, food, textiles, industry and services were among the sectors identified for cooperation.
The trip also produced a cooperation protocol between Van TSO and UMBA. Van TSO President Necdet Takva said the delegation attended an Armenia-Türkiye business conference, an economic cooperation panel and a manufacturers' expo during its visit.
Getting there illustrated the obstacle the business groups want removed.
Takva said the delegation left Van in three buses and reached Yerevan after roughly 22 hours on the road through Georgia. Around 130 people had initially applied to join the trip. Van TSO had spent about a month hoping that a facilitated crossing at the Alican border gate could be arranged, similar to an earlier symbolic passage, but no such arrangement was made.
Takva renewed his call for Alican to open after the delegation returned to Van, saying businesses were ready to move from contacts to trade and investment.
The business push comes after Ankara removed one administrative obstacle to direct commerce. Türkiye's Foreign Ministry said bureaucratic preparations for direct trade with Armenia had been completed as of May 11, allowing Türkiye or Armenia to be listed as the final destination or point of origin for goods transported through a third country.
The ministry said separately that technical and bureaucratic work needed to open the common land border was still under way. The new trade arrangement therefore changed the paperwork without providing companies with a direct road crossing.
That gap has become more visible as economic files move further into the normalization process. Bosphorus News reported in July that direct trade procedures, border access and the rehabilitation of the Kars-Gyumri railway had become part of the working agenda between Ankara and Yerevan.
The two governments have pursued normalization through special representatives since 2022. Direct flights have resumed and technical work has advanced on several files, but the land border remains closed and diplomatic relations have not been established.
Van TSO and UMBA are now pressing for the commercial side of that process to move beyond paperwork. Their joint statement called the opening of the border and the start of regular commercial crossings one of the steps needed to sustain the contacts already developing between companies on both sides.
Sources: Van Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia, Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bosphorus News review and reporting.