Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan Strengthen Strategic Partnership
Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Murat Nurtleu, held negotiations with Turkmenistan's Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rashid Meredov, who was on an official visit to Astana.
The discussions covered a wide range of topics concerning Kazakh-Turkmen cooperation, including political, trade, economic, transit, transport, energy, and cultural and humanitarian sectors.
Emphasis was placed on the practical implementation of agreements following state visits by Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Ashgabat in October 2021, Turkmenistan’s President Serdar Berdimuhamedov to Astana in October 2022, and the official visit by Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister to Ashgabat last October.
Minister Nurtleu highlighted that the political will of both nations’ leaders has significantly elevated bilateral relations in recent years.
A major focus was on expanding trade and economic cooperation. Over the past five years, mutual trade between Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan has nearly quadrupled. In 2023, trade increased by 28%, reaching $563 million.
“In the first quarter of this year, the volume of trade between our countries exceeded $100 million. These positive trends inspire great confidence in achieving the goal set by our leaders to increase mutual trade to $1 billion in the near future,” said Nurtleu.
Both parties praised their cooperation in the transit and transport sectors, citing the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway as a successful example. The potential of this railway is growing annually, with transportation volume increasing by 20% last year, amounting to 1.3 million tons.
The ministers also discussed significant potential for cooperation in the energy sector, expressing readiness to support joint projects.
“Turkmenistan supports Kazakhstan in all its global and regional initiatives. I am confident that our negotiations today will further develop cooperation between Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan,” said Meredov.
Cultural and humanitarian cooperation was also a key topic. Following instructions from their leaders, Kazakhstan will host the Days of Culture of Turkmenistan in Astana, and Turkmenistan will host the Days of Culture of Kazakhstan in Ashgabat. These events will include performances by creative groups and the inauguration of monuments to the poets Magtymguly Fragi and Abai Kunanbayev. The celebration of the 300th anniversary of Turkmen poet M. Fraga was also positively noted.
The ministers exchanged views on regional and international issues, confirming their commitment to close cooperation within multilateral structures and mutual support in promoting their states’ initiatives.
They emphasized the importance of deepening regional cooperation, particularly completing the signing of the five-party Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborhood, and Cooperation for the Development of Central Asia in the 21st Century.
