On June 25, 2020, the nineteenth meeting of the Turkmenistan-European Union Joint Committee was held at the Ministry of Finance and Economics of Turkmenistan in online format.
Turkmenistan at this meeting was represented by the heads and representatives of several ministries and departments, including the Ministries of Finance and Economy, Foreign Affairs, Trade and Foreign Economic Relations, Education, Health and Medical Industry, and others. On the EU side, the meeting was attended by representatives of the European External Relations Service, led by Deputy Managing Director of Europe and Central Asia, Luc Devigne.
During the meeting, a high level of development of relations between Turkmenistan and the European Union was underlined. Noting the importance of high-level political and diplomatic dialogue and contacts, the parties focused on the development of trade and economic cooperation. Having heard the negative socio-economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, the parties agreed to exchange skills, technological and information resources to overcome this situation.
The issues of cooperation in the field of energy, transport, communications and digitalization were separately considered. They discussed the possibility of increasing commodity turnover, as well as developing partnerships between the private sectors of Turkmenistan and the EU countries.
The parties also exchanged views on expanding cooperation in the field of education and health. Joint programs and projects in the field of ecology, agriculture, and finance were discussed. It was noted that Turkmenistan and the EU have been successfully cooperating in the framework of national and regional projects for many years.