On August 30, Mr. MOTEGI Toshimitsu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, during his visit to Turkmenistan, held a Foreign Ministers’ meeting and a working lunch with H.E. Rashid Meredov, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. On this occasion both sides signed the Cooperation Program between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan for 2027-2029.
- At the outset, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs Meredov extended a heartfelt welcome to Minister MOTEGI on his visit to Turkmenistan, stating that the current visit would be an important step to further strengthen bilateral relations and expressed his desire to further develop them at all levels and across a wide range of fields. In response, Minister MOTEGI stated that last year has witnessed significant development of bilateral relations through President Berdimuhamedov’s two visits to Japan on the occasion of the National Day Event of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan and on the occasion of the Summit of “Central Asia plus Japan” Dialogue (CA+JAD) , as well as through Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Meredov’s visit to Japan, and that he would like to further strengthen the relations with Turkmenistan as an important partner to maintain and strengthen free and open international order based on the rule of law. Furthermore, both sides concurred on further closer cooperation in the framework of international organization, which has been built up between the two countries.
- Minister MOTEGI explained the updated “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)” concept and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs Meredov remarked that Japan’s efforts are important. Furthermore, Minister MOTEGI mentioning close cooperation with Turkmenistan in natural resources and energy fields, stated that Japan is ready to further expand mutually beneficial cooperation in fields of AI and resource circulation taking continuous advantage of Japanese technology in the future. In response, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs Meredov spoke highly of the cooperation to date with Japan across a wide range of fields, stating that Japan is the most important partner for the economic development of Turkmenistan and Japanese technologyhas been promoting the diversification of Turkmenistan’s economy and expressed his desire to further strengthen bilateral relations, including in the field of AI and resource circulation.
- Furthermore, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs Meredov stated that around 15,000 person in Turkmenistan study Japanese language. Both sides concurred on promoting bilateral cooperation in the field of education.