On Friday, 28 February, the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan, Hero-Arkadag, held a meeting with high-ranking representatives of the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation. The delegation included the World Bank’s Vice President for the Europe and Central Asia, Ms. Antonella Bassani, the World Bank’s Regional Director for Central Asia, Ms. Tatiana Proskuryakova, and the International Finance Corporation’s Regional Director for Central Asia and Türkiye, Ms. Wibke Schlemer.
During the meeting, the guests expressed appreciation for the opportunity to discuss cooperation issues and noted Turkmenistan’s high achievements in implementing economic reforms. Ms. Antonella Bassani conveyed greetings to Hero Arkadag from the head of the World Bank, emphasizing the importance of the country’s policy.
Representatives of international financial organizations highly appreciated Turkmenistan’s domestic and foreign policy, emphasizing the important role of the country’s status of neutrality in strengthening world peace and the importance of Turkmenistan’s international initiatives.
For his part, the National Leader of the Turkmen people expressed confidence that the upcoming meetings during the visit will contribute to a productive exchange of views on the current state and promising areas of economic cooperation between Turkmenistan and the World Bank, and wished successful negotiations.
One of the key issues discussed was the expansion of international cooperation, including the intensification of cooperation with reputable major organizations and banking and credit structures. Berdimuhamedov noted the effectiveness of the dialogue with the World Bank, which for many years has been providing support in financing significant social and economic projects in such areas as healthcare, education, transport, communications and energy.
The transport sector occupies a special place in the strategy of economic development of Turkmenistan. The meeting discussed the coordination of various modes of transport, as well as measures to create international transport corridors such as North–South and East–West.
A strong emphasis was placed on maximizing the potential of trans-Caspian transportation to enhance regional connectivity.
The National Leader emphasized the significant potential of the Turkmenbashi International Seaport, a key link between Europe and Asia, to bolster transit capacities. Turkmenistan reaffirmed its commitment to expanding mutually beneficial cooperation with the World Bank, welcoming their specific proposals for participation in ongoing transport corridor projects
At the end of the meeting, the parties expressed confidence in the successful continuation of cooperation and exchanged best wishes.///nCa, 1 March 2025