In 2022, Turkmenistan and Germany celebrated the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations. During this period, there has been a great dynamic in the development of relations between the two countries, and now we see how mutual interest in even greater exchange continues to grow. Especially such areas as healthcare, the financial sector, combating the effects of climate change and environmental protection are the main spheres of our cooperation, stated by the Ambassador of Germany to Turkmenistan Michael U. Bierhoff, speaking at a reception in honor of the German Unity Day on 2 October 2023 in Ashgabat.
Bilateral cooperation is developing dynamically
The envoy said that Turkmenistan and Germany are successfully working on such key topics as the training of qualified personnel, the modernization of agriculture, the further development of industrial production technologies and the expansion of proposals in terms of teaching German to the Turkmenistan population.
“After a little more than one year of my activity as the German Ambassador in Ashgabat, I am happy to note that German-Turkmen relations have become much more active, the number of visitors to our countries in both directions has increased,” Bierhoff stressed.
In June, a delegation on economic issues consisting of more than 50 people visited Germany by official invitation, and then the Day of the Economy of Turkmenistan was held in Dusseldorf, where opportunities for broader economic cooperation between German companies and Turkmenistan were presented.
“The German-Turkmen economic forum is scheduled to be held in Germany in November,” the Ambassador said.
An important event for German-Turkmen relations was the visit of the National Leader of the Turkmen people Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to Berlin a few days ago, on 29 September, Bierhoff underlined.
“Turkmenistan’s importance is growing more and more, not only as an integral part of the Central Asian community of nations, but also as a bilateral partner for Germany and the European Union,” he added.
Humanitarian cooperation
Speaking about cooperation on culture and education, Ambassador Bierhoff said that over the past year it has been possible to expand the range of German language teaching offers in Turkmenistan with the support of the German Embassy.
In this regard, the Ambassador praised the activities of the DIL Language Center in Ashgabat, participants in Turkmen partner schools, the work of DAAD lecturers and the support of the Goethe Institute in Almaty for German language learners in Turkmenistan.
Germany welcomes close cooperation with Central Asia
In conclusion, Ambassador Michael U. Bierhoff stressed that the Federal Government highly welcomes the close cooperation of the Central Asian states with each other and their clear joint focus on crucial challenges such as climate change, energy and water resources management, food and medicine provision, as well as security.
“The future of the entire region will largely depend on whether timely, fair and sustainable solutions to these problems can be found. Germany is ready to act as a responsible partner in the region here and demonstrated this by holding the 5+1 summit in Berlin on 29 September,” Bierhoff assured.
The Ambassador of Germany to Turkmenistan noted that this summit, held at the highest political level in Europe, was a proposal for a fair, open and transparent dialogue with the countries of Central Asia for the successful formation of the future of this important region. ///nCa, 5 October 2023 (Photo credit – Germany Embassy in Turkmenistan)