On Monday, 27 May 2024, negotiations were held in Astana between Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov, MFA Kazakhstan reports.
The ministers reviewed a wide range of cooperation areas, including political ties, trade, transportation, energy, and cultural exchange.
The main focus was on the practical implementation of the agreements reached following the state visits of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Ashgabat in October 2021 and President Serdar Berdimuhamedov to Astana in October 2022, as well as the official visit of the Kazakh Foreign Minister to Ashgabat in October last year.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan stressed that thanks to the political will of the heads of state, relations between the countries have reached a qualitatively new level in recent years.
Special attention was paid to the further expansion of trade and economic cooperation.
Over the past five years, the mutual trade between Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan has increased almost 4 times. In 2023, this indicator showed an increase of 28% and reached US $ 563 million.
“In the first quarter of this year, the trade between the two countries exceeded $ 100 million”, Nurtleu said.
He expressed optimism about achieving the ambitious goal set by the presidents – reaching $1 billion in annual trade volume.
The success story of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway emerged as a prime example of fruitful collaboration in the transport sector. The ministers acknowledged the potential for further growth. Notably, cargo traffic between the two countries surged by 20% last year, reaching 1.3 million tons.
The ministers noted the significant potential for cooperation in the energy sector, including the prospects for the implementation of joint projects. They expressed their readiness to contribute to the development of fruitful cooperation in this area.
“Turkmenistan, for its part, supports Kazakhstan in the implementation of all its initiatives and recommendations at the global and regional levels. I am confident that our talks today will contribute to the further development of cooperation between Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan,” Meredov said.
The foreign ministers stressed the substantial agenda of cultural and humanitarian cooperation. In accordance with the instructions of the heads of state, Days of Culture will be held on a reciprocal basis in Astana and Ashgabat this year. The cultural event will include unveiling monuments to outstanding poets of the two countries – Magtymguly Fragi and Abai Kunanbayev.
During the meeting, the ministers discussed topical aspects of the regional and international agenda, reaffirmed their commitment to continue close cooperation within multilateral organizations, as well as to continue to provide mutual support in promoting the initiatives of the two countries.
The parties stressed the importance of deepening regional cooperation, especially the need to complete the procedure for signing the five-party Treaty on Friendship, Good-Neighborliness and Cooperation for the Development of Central Asia in the 21st century.