On Friday, 9 August, talks were held in Astana between President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The meeting was also attended by members of the delegations.
Tokayev thanked the President of Turkmenistan for participating in the Summit, and also noted the importance of his visit in terms of further promoting the multifaceted partnership between the countries.
“Kazakh-Turkmen relations are developing successfully and fully correspond to the level of strategic partnership. […] Economic cooperation is developing on an upward trend. Governments are working to bring the volume of mutual trade to $1 billion. Our countries have all the possibilities for this. A number of projects in the fields of energy, industry, transport, logistics and other areas are under implementation. Favorable conditions are being created for mutual cultural and humanitarian exchange,” the President of Kazakhstan stressed.
In turn, Serdar Berdimuhamedov stressed that the two countries have established close cooperation in various areas. An active political dialogue is underway, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian ties are developing, and inter-parliamentary contacts are strengthening. Turkmenistan and the Republic of Kazakhstan always support each other within the framework of the United Nations and other major international organizations.
Shifting focus to trade and economic ties, the head of Turkmenistan underscored the critical role of the transportation sector. He advocated for intensified collaboration along the Trans-Caspian transport corridor, leveraging the potential of the seaports of Turkmenbashi, Aktau, and Kuryk.
Concurrently, he emphasized the necessity of maximizing the capacity of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway and revitalizing the China-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran transport and transit corridor.
Another priority area of economic cooperation is energy. As President Serdar Berdimuhamedov noted, during Arkadag’s meetings with the Kazakhstan’s leader, the possibilities of bilateral partnership in the gas sector were discussed. In this regard, the Head of Turkmenistan once again confirmed readiness for the negotiation process on this topic.
At the same time, it was noted that there is a great potential for cooperation in the field of electric power industry.
The cultural and humanitarian sphere is an integral part of the Turkmen-Kazakh relations. Speaking about this, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov noted that the Days of Culture of Turkmenistan were held in the Republic of Kazakhstan on June 25-27 this year. Days of Culture of Kazakhstan in Turkmenistan are scheduled for October.