Turkey announces full administrative readiness to launch direct trade with Armenia

KATHMANDU: Turkey has announced that it has completed all necessary administrative procedures to begin direct trade with neighboring Armenia, marking a significant step toward normalizing relations that have remained strained for decades.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said the measures were finalized this week as part of the normalization process that began in early 2022.

The development is being seen as one of the clearest signs of progress in long-frozen bilateral ties.

Under the new arrangement, goods transported via third countries—particularly Georgia—will now be able to officially list “Armenia” or “Turkey” as the country of origin or destination in customs documentation. Previously, trade between the two countries was conducted indirectly through intermediaries due to the absence of formal diplomatic and commercial relations.

Keceli also noted that technical and administrative preparations are ongoing for the possible opening of shared border crossings, which would further facilitate direct connectivity between the two countries.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 during the first Nagorno-Karabakh war, aligning with Azerbaijan. However, momentum for rapprochement has increased in recent years, especially after a high-level meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Istanbul in June 2025.

After earlier failed reconciliation attempts in the late 2000s, both sides have recently shown renewed willingness to move beyond historical tensions and pursue practical cooperation.

As part of confidence-building measures, the two countries also agreed earlier this year on the joint restoration of the historic Ani Bridge, located on the Akhurian River along their shared border. The Silk Road-era structure is seen as a symbolic link between the two nations’ shared heritage.