Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

In his speech at the opening ceremony, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Today, we are taking a very important step that will connect Ardahan and our country to the Caucasus and Asia in a stronger way and bring more prosperity and wealth to these lands. We are proud and happy for our country and our business world.”

Stating that there is money where there is trade, wealth where there is money, and peace where there is wealth, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We aimed to turn the route of trade to this geography. With the Türkgözü Border Gate, we took one more step towards this goal. With the positive approach and approval of our government, we realized a first in the world. We started to modernize the land customs gates with the build-operate-transfer model. While doing this, we did not impose a single penny cost on the state. We did not spend a single penny from the public budget. Moreover, the tax revenues of the state increased exponentially thanks to the gates operating more efficiently and voluminously.”

- 12 customs gates renovated

Stating that they have completely renovated 12 border gates by using the most advanced technology and brought them to the country's economy, Hisarcıklıoğlu reported that waiting times have been reduced by half at the modernized gates. Hisarcıklıoğlu noted that the volume of passage increased exponentially. “For all these, as the Chamber-Exchange community, we have invested 660 million dollars,” said the President of TOBB: “We also invested 180 million liras to modernize the Türkgözü customs gate. In other words, we saved the state from spending so much money. From the income obtained from these gates, our state has generated 340 million dollars more tax revenue. In other words, as the Chamber and Commodity Exchange community, we have brought 1 billion dollars to the coffers of our state. Not only the state, but also our private sector and our members won from this. 85 percent of the exports made by road from our country pass through these modernized gates. Thanks to the new gates, the waiting times of trucks carrying goods have shortened. Our private sector saved on freight costs. We have also increased the prestige of our country with our modern, safe and comfortable facilities, which are the first visible face of Türkiye.”

- Showed as an exemplary project in the world

Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the customs gate modernization projects they implemented in partnership with the public and private sectors were highly appreciated all over the world and added: “For the first time, a project of Türkiye was selected and shown as the best example worldwide by the United Nations. They said to the whole world 'if you are going to make your border crossings faster, if you are going to make them safer, do it like Türkiye did'. We have reached the point of exporting our experience and knowledge to the world. We have started a new initiative together with the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry. We aimed to modernize the land customs gates in 57 Islamic countries that are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. With this joint venture, which will soon become operational, we will make our name known in global markets. As TOBB, we had previously modernized the Çıldır-Aktaş gates in Ardahan and Sarp gates in Artvin on the Georgian border. As of today, we will be more strongly connected to the Caucasus and Central Asia, especially Georgia, with Türkgözü.”

- Trade Minister Ömer Bolat

In his speech here, Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat gave information about the modernization of customs gates and reminded that the Ministry is responsible for the management of 152 customs gates. Stating that they have modernized 13 customs gates in cooperation with GTI, Minister Bolat emphasized the importance of customs gates for increasing foreign trade.

Stating that Türkiye is located at the center of a very important corridor in terms of international trade, Bolat said that the Türkgözü gate is a very important point connecting Türkiye to the Caucasus and Asia.

Stating that increasing the capacity of Türkiye's ports, gates and transportation infrastructure is of great importance, Minister Polat said that the government has realized very important projects for these works. Bolat reminded that Türkiye's exports amounted to 254 billion dollars last year and said that they maintained the same figures this year despite the negative effects of the earthquake. Stating that customs gates have a very important function in Türkiye's 620 billion dollar foreign trade, Bolat pointed out the importance of speed in these customs gates.

In his speech, Arif Parmaksız, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Customs and Tourism Enterprises AŞ (GTİ), said that they are proud to add Türkgözü Customs Gate to the modernization started in 2005 with Habur and Cilvegözü Customs Gates. He said that this modernization will make the trade and human movements between the two countries faster and more reliable.