Businesses and people in the Black Sea region will only stand to benefit if Ankara and Yerevan agree to re-open their long-closed border, Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) General Manager Andrey Kondakov said in an interview with Today’s Zaman.
Kondakov was recently in Istanbul to participate in the Southeast Europe Business Forum. The Thessaloniki-based bank was established in 1997 to promote economic development and regional cooperation among Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) members.
“As a development bank we promote regional cooperation and trade. … We will welcome any initiative leading to increased business interaction among members and among businesses and peoples in the Black Sea region, and the reopening of the border with Yerevan is definitely one such move,” he explained.
Kondakov stressed more open borders will help to develop regional infrastructure, which brings more business opportunities and supports growth and prosperity in the BSEC member countries.
