Turkey's Ambassador to Ashgabat Ahmet Demirok,
With the help of
He assessed the relations between the two countries and their cooperation.
Reminding that Turkey was the first country to recognize the independence of Turkmenistan, Demirok stated that Turkey was the first country to open an embassy in Ashgabat, and that Turkish official institutions, business people and non-governmental organizations stood by their Turkmen brothers in the process of transforming independent Turkmenistan into a modern country.
Demirok said that Turkey fully supports Turkmenistan's policy of active neutrality and emphasized that the deep-rooted relations between Turkey and Turkmenistan based on common history, language, religion and culture are developing day by day on the basis of mutual respect, cooperation and common interests.
Stating that Turkmenistan made a great development move under the leadership of National Leader Arkadağ Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov ⁇ and that the development of the country continued under the leadership of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov ⁇ , Demirok said:
Our relationships are developing in many different areas. This momentum in our relations with Turkmenistan is reflected in the course of our commercial and economic cooperation. Turkey continues to be one of the largest trading partners of Turkmenistan. Turkey's total trade volume with Turkmenistan in 2023 is 2.6 billion dollars. We think that this figure can increase even more in the near future and we can easily reach our common goal of 5 billion dollars of trade volume. ⁇
Noting that mutual high-level visits between Turkey and Turkmenistan have increased significantly in recent years, Demirok said, "We continue our efforts to further improve our current cooperation with ⁇ Turkmenistan ⁇ ."
⁇ We would like Turkmenistan ⁇ to join TDT ⁇ as a full member ⁇
Reminding that Turkmenistan became an observer member of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in 2021, Demirok said:
⁇ TDT is a family assembly that aims to increase interaction and cooperation between Turkish states. We wish Turkmenistan to join TDT ⁇ ye and TURKPA ⁇ as full members. Turkmenistan is a very important member of the Turkic world family. We firmly believe that with Turkmenistan's recent full membership in TDT ⁇ , cooperation in the Turkic world will be further strengthened. The Turkic world stands out as an area of prosperity and stability in the region with its human resources, natural resources, social economic and technological capacity. We believe that Turkmenistan, which is strategically located in Central Asia in terms of transportation routes and energy resources, will also make an extremely important contribution to this whole.
Referring to the energy cooperation between Turkey and Turkmenistan, Demirok recalled that in March, the two countries signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Cooperation on the Development of Cooperation in the Natural Gas Field and the Declaration of Intent on Cooperation on Hydrocarbon Resources.
Recalling that Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar ⁇ visited Turkmenistan in July and held talks with the authorities on improving cooperation in the field of electricity and mining, especially in the supply of Turkmen natural gas to Turkish and European markets, Demirok said:
In his interview with the press on the occasion of his visit to Bayraktar, Mr. Bayraktar stated that it is aimed to purchase 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Turkmenistan in the first place by swap method and in the long term, 15 billion cubic meters of natural gas for 20 years with a Caspian transit pipeline, and to reach a volume of 300 billion cubic meters in total. Mr. Bayraktar also pointed out that the issue of co-production in the natural gas fields in Turkmenistan was also discussed during the meetings and stated that the cooperation opportunities between BOTAŞ and the relevant Turkish companies and the Turkmen side, including the issues of natural gas storage and distribution, were evaluated.
⁇ Transportation of Turkmen natural gas to Europe via Turkey has been on the agenda for a long time ⁇
Demirok said the following about the role Turkey can play in transporting Turkmen natural gas to Europe:
After the independence of ⁇ Turkmenistan ⁇ , some documents were signed between the relevant Turkish and Turkmen authorities and important negotiations were held to improve cooperation in the field of energy. The issue of transporting Turkmen natural gas to our country and to Europe via Turkey has been on the agenda for a long time. In the context of political and economic instabilities in the world, as well as environmental concerns such as the green transformation process, we think that we are passing through a favorable period for the transportation of Turkmen gas to Western markets. We believe that this window of opportunity will not remain open forever and that cooperation should be started as soon as possible. Therefore, in the short term, we think that starting cooperation by using the existing infrastructure will benefit all parties participating in the cooperation with the win-win formula by eliminating the infrastructure deficiencies that may be needed in the medium and long term and strengthening the cooperation to be established by making new investments.
⁇ Turkmenistan is at the strategic crossroads ⁇
Referring to the importance of Turkmenistan in terms of transportation lines, Demirok said that this country is located on the Central Corridor route that will connect China to Europe via the Caspian Sea.
Demirok stated that the Central Corridor extends from Turkey to Georgia, Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea, respectively, with railway and road connections, and from the Caspian to China by following the route of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan or Kazakhstan.
In this context, the ports of Alat of Azerbaijan, Aktau of Kazakhstan and Turkmenbashi of Turkmenistan are used for combined transportation via the Caspian Sea. Turkmenistan, which combines Hazar ⁇ i and Çin ⁇ i on the east-west axis and Russia, Kazakhstan and Iran and Pakistan ⁇ on the north-south axis in Central Asia, is at the strategic junction. Turkmenistan's strategy of reviving the Great Silk Road is in line with the initiative of Çin ⁇ in ⁇ Belt and Yol ⁇ . Turkmenistan creates a versatile and harmonious logistics system in the east-west and north-south directions. Turkmenistan aims to fully reveal the potential of intercontinental transport with all modes of transport, including railway, road, air, and to create logistics terminals at the ports. ⁇
