Page 17 - bne_newspaper_September_14_2018

Opinion
September 14, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 17
Unsplendid isolation
Emil Avdaliani in Tbilisi
Small and impoverished, landlocked Armenia struggles to make any impressive trade or invest- ment headlines.
Shunned by the anti-Yerevan Azerbaijani-Turkish axis running from east to west and rather hemmed in by the geopolitical priorities of ally Russia to
the north, it has not even managed to form im- pressive business links with Christian neighbour Georgia — even though Georgia is a fellow diminu- tive nation, with a population numbering around 3.7mn compared to Armenia’s 2.9mn, it has for
the past six years concentrated on developing the Turkey-Georgia-Azerbaijan trilateral cooperation, the notable achievements of which so far include the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway launched in October last year and Southern Gas Corridor (SCG) pipe- line infrastructure that, once completed, will take Azerbaijani gas all the way to Italy.
Where Armenia is concerned, Azerbaijan, of course, doesn’t want to know, given its anger over the Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway territory popu- lated by ethnic Armenians. Turkey stands by its ally Baku in refusing to maintain diplomatic links with Armenia and the Armenians, surrounded
by hostility, thus rely on hosting Russian military bases for their security — a fact which Russia de- ploys as part of its strategy to deter Georgia from too eagerly pursuing its dream of joining Nato. What’s left for Armenia?
So what’s left for poor, isolated Armenia, beyond its delicate relationship with Moscow and the investment commitments it can raise from the 7-10mn-strong Armenian diaspora? Ask an Armenian and you might at least get a nod to the
Meghri, located by Armenia’s border with Iran, is home to a new special economic zone which Yerevan hopes will herald far bigger things to come where business with the small country’s big neighbour is concerned.
south where lies the sleeping giant that is Iran, a country of some 80mn.
Iran may be under a renewed sanctions-led eco- nomic attack from the US — in which Washing- ton is warning third countries to drop trade and investment links with the Islamic Republic or face the consequences — but Yerevan will be tempted to continue exploring any economic potential with Iran that it can.
In late 2017, a free economic zone (FEZ) was opened in Meghri, a town bordering Iran in the southern Armenian province of Syunik. Aimed at reviving economic prospects with Iran — given its geographi- cal position, commercial and logistical capabilities as well as Armenia’s multi-sector preferential trade regimes — the free zone could amount to something of a bridge between Iran, the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and the European Union.
According to the Armenian government, approxi- mately 50-70 operators will be involved in the Meghri FEZ over the next several years with a projected combined investment of $100-130mn. Officials say the FEZ will create 1,500 new jobs and can achieve an annual turnover of $250mn in exported goods and services. Moreover, entrepre- neurs at Meghri will not pay taxes, except for the levy on their net income.
Though nothing to shout about from the rooftops, trade between Armenia and Iran is on the rise.
In 2017, it grew to more than $220mn, up from 2016’s $199.4mn. Armenian exports to Iran last year moved up to $66.9mn, while Iranian exports to Armenia increased to $144.4mn.