U.S. Funds Key Armenian Border Checkpoint

19/05/2005 03:46

Armenia opened on Wednesday a new U.S.-funded checkpoint at its main border crossing with Georgia which officials said will facilitate brisk cross-border commerce and complicate smuggling of sensitive equipment.

The two-story building in Bagratashen, a town on the Georgian border, was constructed and equipped with $200,000 provided by the United States. [...]
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U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans also attended the ceremony. “This facility is built to the highest European standards with the latest and secure building materials,” he said.

Bagratashen and especially a Georgian village across the border are known for their open-air markets that have served as the main setting for regional trade since the early 1990s. Tens of thousands of traders from Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan converge on the area every week to sell and buy various goods. A large part of them are smuggled in the process.
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The money spent on the new checkpoint is part of Washington’s Export Control and Related Border Security Assistance Program (EXBS) implemented in 45 countries around the world.
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