Konuşmanın Türkçesini okumak için:
Nurhan Çetinkaya – Güney Kafkasya’da Güvenlik Konferansı Konuşması
Distinguished guests, dear participants,
There are some geographies that history holds responsible not only for their past but also for their future. The South Caucasus is precisely such a geography.
It is a great honor for me to be here today.
Today, I stand before you as an Armenian who is a citizen of the Republic of Türkiye, as a member of an ancient people who have lived on these lands for nearly three thousand years.
I am very pleased to speak with you under the shadow of the crescent-and-star flag that I carry with pride.
First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the organizing committee for inviting me to this important conference.
Today, the world is undergoing a major transformation.
The global order is being reshaped.
Alliances are changing.
Balances are being re-established.
While the search for peace continues in some regions, conflicts and uncertainties persist in others.
It is precisely in such a period that the importance of the South Caucasus increases even further.
Because the South Caucasus is not merely a geopolitical space.
This is a geography shaped by thousands of years of civilizations, cultures, and shared memory.
Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and Türkiye…
If the right steps are taken, this region can become not only a border area but also a center of stability, cooperation, and prosperity.
However, this requires a change of mindset:
Not forgetting the past, but not missing the future.
History matters.
Memory matters.
But it is not possible to move forward by constantly looking to the past.
Today, we must ask ourselves the following question:
How can we build a stronger Caucasus?
How can we construct a region where our peoples will live in peace, prosperity, and dignity?
Because future generations deserve a geography shaped not by conflicts, but by cooperation.
I am speaking here not only with my identity but also as a businessperson.
And the picture I see in the field is very clear.
If there is no stability, there is no investment.
If there is uncertainty, trade does not develop.
Today, our region has great economic potential.
But unfortunately, intra-regional trade is still far below the level it should be.
Geography is close, but economies are distant from each other.
Let me give a very simple example.
Today, due to the absence of direct trade between Türkiye and Armenia, goods often have to pass through Georgia.
What does this mean?
It means that the same goods become more expensive.
It means that logistics costs increase.
It means that competitiveness is lost from the very beginning.
This is not merely an economic detail.
This actually means that the region cannot utilize its potential.
This must be stated clearly:
Capital is timid.
It moves away from where it sees risk.
But at the same time, we also know this:
If the way is opened, trade will come.
If trade comes, stability will strengthen.
Throughout history, Armenians and Turks have been peoples who have shared this geography together.
During the Seljuk and Ottoman periods, they lived together, produced together, and created value together.
During the Ottoman period, Armenians assumed important roles in state administration, finance, and diplomacy.
However, history also shows us another reality.
The competition of great powers and external interventions have sometimes created divisions among societies that had lived together for centuries.
Nevertheless, our cultures have never been completely severed.
I see this in my own life.
In my home, paintings by Armenian artists stand side by side with the works of Azerbaijani artists.
In a sense, I have established peace in my own home.
Because art, culture, and human interaction can often build the bonds that politics cannot.
And this reminds me of the following:
Sometimes artists achieve what politicians cannot.
Sometimes culture builds the bridges that diplomats cannot establish.
Iranian cinema,
Armenian music,
Azerbaijani culture,
Turkish literature…
All of these are parts of the shared richness of this ancient geography.
As I come to the end of my speech, I would like to touch upon the strategic importance of improving relations between Türkiye and Armenia and opening the borders.
This is not only an issue between two countries.
This step will also have important consequences for Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, and the entire region.
Today, due to closed borders, trade has to be conducted through indirect routes.
Energy projects are prolonged.
Logistics costs increase.
Railway projects cannot develop sufficiently.
However, if normalization is achieved and borders are opened:
Trade accelerates.
Logistics costs decrease.
The region becomes an important transit hub.
And most importantly:
As mutual economic ties strengthen, tensions decrease.
As a businessperson, I believe this:
Isolation benefits no one.
But cooperation enables everyone to benefit.
In a world full of uncertainties, the most valuable thing is to build bridges.
Economic bridges,
cultural bridges,
and human bridges.
And perhaps most importantly…
the bridge that will be built between our peoples.
As I conclude my speech, I would like to say this:
We are not condemned to each other in this geography.
We are not a risk to one another, but an opportunity.
The South Caucasus will either remain in the shadow of conflicts or rise in the light of cooperation.
This is not destiny.
This is a choice.
And I believe that:
Peace begins with dialogue…
but prosperity is built by working together.
Thank you all.
