Turkmenistan President Calls for Expanding Trade Ties with Persian Gulf

Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedov has called for expanding trade ties and investment cooperation between the countries of Central Asia and the Persian Gulf, Turanews.kz reports.

Speaking at the Jeddah Summit in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Berdimuhamedov said that economic cooperation between the two regions has great prospects. He emphasized the need for a consistent increase in the volume of mutual trade and discussion of the issue of establishing the Chamber of Commerce of the Central Asian countries and the Cooperation Council of the Persian Gulf countries.

Berdimuhamedov also stated that Turkmenistan is always open for cooperation in the implementation of investment projects in priority sectors of the economy. He proposed to organize in Turkmenistan in 2024 the First Investment Forum of the countries of Central Asia and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

“We believe that the creation of the Central Asian Chamber of Commerce and the Gulf Cooperation Council will contribute to the further development of trade and economic relations between our countries,” Berdimuhamedov said. “We are also ready to cooperate with the countries of the Persian Gulf in the implementation of investment projects in priority sectors of the economy.”

Berdimuhamedov’s speech was positively received by the leaders of the Persian Gulf countries.

The Jeddah Summit took place on July 19, 2023 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The leaders of the countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf and Central Asia took part in the summit. The summit discussed ways to strengthen cooperation between the countries of the Persian Gulf and Central Asia.

The summit was attended by the heads of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, as well as Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

The Central Asian countries have been seeking to expand their trade ties with the Persian Gulf countries in recent years. The Persian Gulf countries are major consumers of Central Asian oil and gas, and they are also investing in Central Asian infrastructure projects.

The establishment of a Chamber of Commerce of the Central Asian countries and the Cooperation Council of the Persian Gulf countries would be a significant step towards strengthening trade and economic ties between the two regions.