31 May 2011 23:12

Georgia, Turkey open modernized customs checkpoint, determined to boost trade

TBILISI. May 31 (Interfax) - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan unveiled a modernized customs checkpoint in Sarpi near Batumi on Tuesday.

The checkpoint's modernization is expected to significantly increase its capacity and simplify customs procedures as much as possible.

"We said we would have a common airport, and this has been done. We said that visa-free travel would be introduced between Georgia and Turkey, and this is being done," Saakashvili said.

He said an agreement the two countries signed on Tuesday means that, starting July 1, citizens of Georgia and Turkey will be able to cross the border between the two states without passports, of which they had agreed one year ago.

"Crossing the border without passports means that a person can offer an ID at the customs without leaving their car and would be passed, as happens at the border between Switzerland and France and in a lot of other countries," Saakashvili said.

Erdogan said Turkey is dynamically developing relations with Georgia, which is "not only a neighbor but also a friend of Turkey."

"This can be confirmed by the modernized customs complex in Sarpi that was unveiled today, which provides every opportunity for crossing the border easily and comfortably and which should make the ties between our countries even stronger," Erdogan said.

Turkey is Georgia's major trade partner. Trade turnover between the two countries reached $1.105 billion in 2010, making 16.5% of Georgia's foreign trade.