On 25 January 2024, Ambassador Ahmet Demirok of Türkiye to Turkmenistan hosted a press conference in his residence in Ashgabat. The press conference brought together the representatives of Embassy’s staff, foreign media accredited in Turkmenistan and representatives from Turkmenistan’s major news outlets.
Ambassador Demirok delivered comprehensive and insightful speech, covering the current situation and recent milestones in Turkmen-Turkish relations.
Here is slightly paraphrased translation of speech by Ambassador Demirok. For convenience, the text is divided into subheadings according to the topics covered in the remarks:
Dear representatives of the press,
After taking up the post of Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to Turkmenistan, I wanted to meet with you and share with you the current state of Turkish-Turkmen relations and our vision. Thank you for accepting our invitation and attending our meeting. I would like to meet with you again in the future to exchange ideas on important issues concerning Türkiye and our bilateral relations with Turkmenistan.
As you know, in January 2024, I presented my credentials to the President of Turkmenistan, Mr. Serdar Berdimuhamedov, and officially began my duties as the Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye in Ashgabat. Mr. President received me very warmly. I conveyed to him the greetings of our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. I thanked him for receiving me quickly, as befits the close relations between Türkiye and Turkmenistan.
Later that day, I presented a copy of my credentials to the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Rashid Meredov. It is a great honor for our embassy to work with Mr. Rashid Meredov, a very experienced and senior Minister of Foreign Affairs. During his reception, we took a comprehensive tour of important issues in our bilateral relations. I hope to benefit from the Foreign Minister’s experience during my time in office.
It is a great honor for me to serve as the Ambassador of Türkiye to Turkmenistan, which we consider our ancestral home. It is also a huge responsibility. I have gained important experience working in different centers around the world, and most recently, working at the embassy in Doha and Asmara. Together with our colleagues and advisers at our embassy, we will continue to work to further develop Turkish-Turkmen relations.
Turkmen-Turkish relations are based on common history, language, religion and culture
Dear representatives of the press,
Türkiye’s relations with the sister countries and geographic regions from which our ancient culture originated are very special. Türkiye has the honor of being the first country to recognize the independence of Turkic states, including Turkmenistan. Türkiye, which was one of the first countries to support Turkmenistan’s permanent neutrality status, fully supports Turkmenistan’s policy of active neutrality.
Our deep relations with Turkmenistan, based on common history, language, religion and culture, are strengthening every day on the basis of cooperation and common interests. After Turkmenistan declared its independence, Türkiye became the first country to open an embassy in Turkmenistan. In this process, our official institutions, businessmen, companies and citizens supported their Turkmen brothers in transforming independent Turkmenistan into a modern country.
Turkmenistan has taken an important step in development under the leadership of national leader Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov; Thanks to the dedication of the Turkmen people and their rich resources, they have become the center of stability and prosperity in their region. I am very pleased to see the continued development of Turkmenistan under the leadership of the esteemed President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and would like to state that we will always walk this path together with our Turkmen brothers.
Mutual visits
Dear guests,
Mutual high-level visits, which have become more intense in recent years, have also contributed significantly to the strategic dimension our relations with Turkmenistan have acquired. Following the participation of Respected Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in the summit of the Organization of Turkic States held in Istanbul on November 12, 2021, our President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan organized a state visit to Turkmenistan on November 27-28, 2021.
As part of our ongoing excellent bilateral relations with Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, the implementation of the mechanisms of the Türkiye-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan Tripartite Meeting was timely. In this context, our President visited Turkmenistan on the occasion of the Tripartite Summit of Türkiye, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, which took place in Avaza, the pearl of the Caspian Sea, on December 14, 2022, where we signed many agreements together.
The visit of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Khalk Maslakhaty Mr. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to Türkiye on the occasion of the extraordinary summit of the Organization of Turkic States held in Ankara on March 16, 2023, participation of the President Mr. Serdar Berdimuhamedov in the oath-taking ceremony of our President and Official visit to our countries on October 25-26, 2023, the first official visit of our Foreign Minister Mr. Hakan Fidan to Turkmenistan on October 10-11, 2023, as well as the visit of our Vice President Mr. Cevdet Yilmaz to Ashgabat on December 5-6, 2023 was very useful for further strengthening our relations and deepening our cooperation.
The 13 agreements signed during the last visit of the President contributed to strengthening the legal foundations of our relations; the organized Business Forum provided an important opportunity for our businessmen to get together and exchange views on joint projects.
The fact that the first official visit of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov to Türkiye took place during the days when we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding of our Republic helped our Turkmen brothers share our happiness and expressed a symbolic meaning emphasizing the principle of “one nation, two peoples.” states the nature of our relationship.
On December 6, 2023, the 7th meeting of the Turkish-Turkmen Commission on Intergovernmental Economic Cooperation was held in Ashgabat, co-chaired by our Vice President Mr. Cevdet Yilmaz and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Mr. Batyr Atdayev. As a result of the meeting, an 88-point action plan was signed that will strengthen our cooperation in many different areas. As part of the visit, a Business Forum was also organized with the participation of about 150 Turkish citizens. On this occasion, Turkish and Turkmen businessmen discussed the possibilities of commercial cooperation.
Trade and Economic Cooperation – Turkish companies have successfully completed about 1,080 projects worth more than $50 billion in Turkmenistan
Dear participants,
In addition to our common interests, relations with Turkmenistan, with which we are connected by spiritual ties, are developing in all areas on the basis of mutual respect. As you understand, this dynamic in relations with Turkmenistan is reflected in the course of our trade and economic cooperation. Our country continues to be one of the largest trading partners of Turkmenistan.
Türkiye’s current trade volume with Turkmenistan has tripled over the past four years to reach $2.1 billion in 2022. The potential of our cooperation is much greater. With the current positive direction of our trade relations, we believe that in the near future the volume of mutual trade will increase even more, and we will easily be able to achieve our common goal of $5 billion. We believe that current trade and investment will further increase in the coming years under the leadership of our heads of state.
Exhibitions form an important basis for our commercial relations with Turkmenistan. On the occasion of the visit of our Vice President, the Exhibition of Turkish Export Products was held in Ashgabat on December 6-8, 2023. At the exhibition, which was attended by about 90 companies from Türkiye, stands with Turkish products attracted great attention. The fair was extremely productive and contributed to the development of cooperation between Turkmen and Turkish companies. As you know, the “Türkiye Export Products Exhibition” will be held on December 4-6, 2024.
17 companies from Türkiye took part in the Agro-Pak Turkmenistan exhibition, held on November 28-30, 2023. We believe that equipment , devices and materials produced by Turkish companies will make a significant contribution to the development of the agriculture and food industry of Turkmenistan. We expect that even more Turkish companies will attend the fair, which is scheduled to take place in May this year.
Dear guests,
In addition to trade, investment, transport and energy are important components of our relations with Turkmenistan. Post-independence Turkish contracting companies have made a significant contribution to the transformation of Turkmenistan. We are grateful to the leadership of Turkmenistan for the trust placed in our companies.
Since Turkmenistan gained independence, Turkish companies have successfully completed about 1,080 projects worth more than $50 billion in Turkmenistan. These data are undoubtedly a reflection of Turkmenistan’s trust in Turkish companies. Turkish companies have implemented many important infrastructure projects in Turkmenistan, such as power plants, power transmission and distribution lines, highways, housing, shopping malls, universities, schools, public buildings, hotels, factories, canals, museums, parks, hospitals and port construction. Our companies perform their work efficiently, but at the same time share their experience with Turkmen companies and authorities with which they cooperate.
In this sense, 2023 turned out to be a success. In 2023, Turkish companies implemented 7 projects worth $3.2 billion. Taking into account the projects launched in previous years, Turkish companies are currently implementing 21 projects worth $4.4 billion. We would like to see Turkish companies in projects such as the second stage of the construction of the “Smart City Arkadag” and “Ashgabat City,” the implementation of which can begin in in the nearest future.
Transport cooperation
Although Turkmenistan is an important route for transporting Turkish products to Central Asian markets, Türkiye also occupies an important position for Turkmenistan in terms of transport to European destinations. In this context, we continue to work in a bilateral and trilateral format with the participation of Azerbaijan, with the goal of making the “Middle Corridor”, the importance of which has especially increased recently, more effective. As part of this, the development of multimodal transport, simplification and acceleration of operations is of great importance.
Energy cooperation
The pandemic we have experienced in the recent past and geopolitical events in the region have once again demonstrated the importance of energy security and resource diversification for the entire world, especially Europe. Türkiye is taking important steps towards becoming a gas hub. Essentially, these efforts by Türkiye contribute to maintaining stability in our nearby geography in particular and in Europe in general. Türkiye currently transports Caspian gas to Europe via the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP). Turkmenistan occupies an important position not only in the field of natural gas exports, but also electricity thanks to its existing and under-construction energy conversion plants. We hope that work will begin soon on transporting Turkmen natural gas and electricity to Western markets.
Cultural issues are also very important between the two brotherly countries, Türkiye and Turkmenistan
Dear representatives of the media,
Cultural issues are also very important between the two brotherly countries, Türkiye and Turkmenistan. We are pleased with the interest in Turkish TV series and films, as well as Turkish music in Turkmenistan. In the future, we have great potential for joint productions that shed light on our history. We hope to implement joint projects in this direction in the near future.
In 2024, declared the “Year of Magtymkuly Fragi” in Turkmenistan, many important events are planned. We are ready to participate in the events organized within this framework and, as the Embassy of Türkiye, to carry out the duties assigned to us.
It is gratifying that TURKSOY announced the city of Anev as the capital of the Turkic world in 2024. On this occasion, we are ready to take part and provide support to the events that will take place in Turkmenistan.
Before concluding my words, I would like to say that the doors of our Embassy and Communications Department are always open to you for any questions and opinions that you may have regarding the bilateral relations between Türkiye and Turkmenistan. We are ready to work closely with you.
Thank you again for participating in our press conference.
We can move on to the questions./// nCa, 26 January 2024