Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Akhmet Gurbanov visited Romania. On 18-19 July, he held a series of meetings in Bucharest. The main topics of discussion were political, interparliamentary cooperation, issues of interaction in transport projects and education.
Political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and Romania
On July 18, 2024, Bucharest hosted political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and Romania. Deputy Minister Akhmet Gurbanov led the Turkmen delegation, while Secretary of State of the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Ms.Ana Tinca headed the Romanian team.
The discussions covered a broad range of topics central to the bilateral relationship, including political and diplomatic cooperation, trade and economic partnership, cultural and educational collaboration, regional and international issues.
Both sides emphasized the importance of maintaining regular high-level engagement to further strengthen cooperation.
Secretary of State Tinca expressed Romania’s strong interest in fostering cross-sectoral collaboration with Turkmenistan. Specific project ideas were discussed in the fields of energy, transportation, communication, education, and people-to-people exchanges.
In this context, Ms. Tinca underscored the significance of developing the Black Sea-Caspian Sea transport corridor, an initiative jointly pursued by Turkmenistan, Romania, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Additionally, she expressed Romania’s firm support for bolstering cooperation between the European Union and Turkmenistan across all areas.
The meeting concluded with an agreement to hold the next session of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation in Bucharest.
Meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania
On the same day, A.Gurbanov met with Romanian Foreign Minister Ms.Luminita Odobescu. During the meeting, the sides noted with satisfaction the very high level of the Turkmen-Romanian partnership in all areas of bilateral cooperation and exchanged congratulations on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, which is celebrated on 21 July.
The importance of the Action Plan between the Foreign Ministries of Turkmenistan and Romania for 2024-2025, which was signed by the Foreign Ministers of the two countries in October 2023 in Luxembourg, was noted.
It is planned to sign an agreement on the Caspian Sea–Black Sea corridor in September
In Bucharest, A. Gurbanov met with the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of Romania, Adrian Gheorghe Fogis. During the in-depth negotiations, the sides discussed the implementation of previously reached agreements in the context of the activities of bilateral working groups in the field of transport, as well as prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation in the transit and transport field, including within the framework of the Global Gateway initiative.
The parties confirmed their intention to prepare for signing in Bucharest in 2024 a draft quadrilateral (Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania) intergovernmental agreement on the establishment of an international transport route “Caspian Sea – Black Sea”.
Romanian language will be studied in Turkmenistan
On July 19, 2024, A.Gurbanov met with the State Secretary of the Ministry of National Education of Romania, Gigel Paraschiv. During the meeting, the exemplary level of cooperation between the two countries in the field of education was noted, as well as ways of its further development, including cooperation between universities of the two countries.
The Turkmen delegation expressed gratitude to the Romanian side for the provision of quotas for Turkmen youth to study at universities in Romania.
The parties also agreed to explore the possibility of opening a specialty “Romanian language” in one of the universities of Turkmenistan in 2025.
Inter-parliamentary cooperation
Issues of further intensification of interparliamentary cooperation were discussed at a meeting between Gurbanov and Anquetil-Károly Kolcsár, the Co-Chairman of the Romanian side of the inter-parliamentary Turkmen-Romanian friendship group..
During the negotiations, the parties confirmed the importance of continuing the practice of organizing mutual visits of parliamentarians of the two countries, and also stressed the importance of the activities of the Interparliamentary Friendship Group “Turkmenistan – Romania”, which has been operating since 2017.
Speaking about cultural cooperation, the Romanian side expressed special appreciation for the installation of a monument to the famous Romanian poet Mihai Eminescu in the Magtymguly Fragi cultural and park complex.
Meeting with Turkmen youth
During his stay in Romania, A.Gurbanov also met with Turkmen students studying at Romanian universities.///nCa, 22 July 2024