70 percent increase in Turkey’s trade with Syria

In his statement Tuzmen said: "The region’s progress depends on the importation and exportation conducted from here with neighbour countries. I know that the national income per person in the region is very low. We know how important Habur is for local people. We have opened the Gurbulak border for trading, and for now we work on activating the Habur border line." Later, while observing the Habur border crossing, Minister Tuzmen said that the lines of trucks waiting to pass over were not desirable for Turkey, saying, "We will find a solution these lines as soon as possible. The current Habur border crossing does not fit our needs in terms of exportation goals. We will add an extra steelyard to the border crossing. Whatever needs to be done in order to make this a more active border, we will do."