Turkmenistan and Turkey are tied together by a thick layer of historical past and rich spiritual and cultural heritage. The peoples of the two countries are bound by deep roots of friendship, supported by the unity of traditions, the indissolubility of a centuries-old trade partnerships and the similarity of modern views and worldviews, a senior lecturer at the IIR of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Perhat Charyev told in an interview with the CentralAsia.news editorial staff.
The specialist noted that today the two states are pursuing a peacekeeping foreign policy, proving in practice that they remain unwaveringly committed to the principles of global peace and cohesion, which provide a reliable platform for sustainable prosperity and socio-economic progress.
External economic interactions
National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov took part in the extraordinary meeting of the Council of Heads of the Organization of Turkic States on March 16, 2023. In his speech, Hero-Arkadag noted that since 2000, the total cost of projects implemented in Turkmenistan jointly with Turkish business companies has exceeded $110.3 billion. During the years of independence of Turkmenistan, Turkish companies have made a significant contribution to the implementation of hundreds of small, medium and large-scale projects. In the first 9 months of the year, Turkmenistan-Turkey trade reached $2.1 billion. This indicator significantly exceeds the total indicator during the whole of last year.
President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov paid an official visit to Turkey on October 25-26, 2023. The President held talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. Following the summit, the parties signed several bilateral documents. These included the Memorandum of Understanding between the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan and the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) on a forum of the Turkmenistan-Turkey Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TTCCI), an Action Plan between the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization of the Republic of Turkey, the Agreement between the Government of Turkmenistan and the Government of the Republic of Turkey on cooperation in technical regulation, standardization, conformity assessment, accreditation and metrology, the Memorandum of Understanding between the Agency of Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Turkey on cooperation in transport and information technology research. These documents are designed to significantly expand the horizons of positive economic cooperation between the two countries.
Turkmenistan-Turkey business forum
In his speech at the representative forum in Ankara, the President of Turkmenistan noted that a wide scope for fruitful activities is opening up for the countries. In this regard, the President proposed setting up a Joint Investment Fund and a Joint Working Group on Investment. He also proposed considering opening the branches of major Turkish banks in Turkmenistan. Furthermore, Serdar Berdimuhamedov invited Turkish companies to take an active part in building Ashgabat City and the industrial cluster in Arkadag City.
Following the business forum, Turkmen and Turkish business communities signed a package of documents on the interactions in building material production, agriculture, food industry and the purchase of specialised equipment. An important platform for the implementation of the agreements reached during the visit will be an export commodities exhibition of Turkey in Turkmenistan, scheduled to take place on December 6-8, 2023.
Transport and logistics sector
This sector is one of the critical areas of promising cooperation between the two countries. In his speech at the Turkmenistan-Turkey forum, the President of Turkmenistan highlighted the need to set up a Joint Transport and Logistics Centre, which would allow further expanding interaction and coordinating and harmonizing joint actions in the transport and logistics sector. Serdar Berdimuhamedov put forward an initiative to hold working meetings on a regular basis between transport and logistics institutions, associations and companies of the two countries.
He emphasised that the Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey multimodal transport and logistics corridor that ensures effective unified communications between the Middle East and Europe and the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey-Europe multimodal logistics hub that provides access from the Asia-Pacific region through Central Asia and the Caucasus to Europe opens up unprecedented opportunities to boost the potential of positive interactions with many countries of the world in the logistics and transit sectors.
Fuel and energy industry
This industry remains one of the strategic vectors of positive interstate partnerships. On December 14, 2022, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan participated the first trilateral summit in the Avaza national tourism zone. The counterparts formulated several constructive initiatives to develop comprehensive, integrated and multimodal logistics to transit hydrocarbon resources from Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Turkey to global consumer markets.
Following the talks, the parties signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the Turkmengas State Concern, the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey on further energy cooperation, opening up new opportunities in building a positive international dialogue on energy.
