Joint seminar refreshes Turkmenistan-Korea partnership in textile sector

nCa Report

The embassy of Korea in Turkmenistan and the ministry of textiles of Turkmenistan jointly hosted a seminar on 2 April 2025 in Ashgabat.

The participants included the industry leaders from Turkmenistan and the leading experts from Korea.

The seminar provided the opportunity to review the state of partnership in the textile sector, the acquaintance with the upcoming interaction and cooperation opportunities and the introduction to the latest trends in the textile sector from the point of view of manufacturers.

There was the presentation to highlight the extent of cooperation between Turkmenistan and Korea in the textile sector.

Speech of Ambassador of Korea

Here is the speech of Ambassador Ji Kyu-Taek of Korea:

I would like to express my gratitude to all those present at today’s seminar.

I would also like to express special gratitude to Mr. Arslan Amanov, Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Textile Industry of Turkmenistan, Mr. Cha Hee-chul, Chief Scientist of the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), and Mr. Nam Seung-eul, General Director of SL TECH, for their speeches.

I am very pleased and attach special importance to the opportunity to strengthen mutual understanding between the Republic of Korea and Turkmenistan in the textile industry, as well as to discuss issues of Turkmen-Korean cooperation in the textile industry.

We remind you that the current year 2025 is the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s permanent neutrality and the “International Year of Peace and Trust” declared by the UN.

On March 21, the UN General Assembly adopted by consensus the resolution “Permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan”.

I attach great importance to the fact that the seminar is being held in such a significant year, and I am confident that today’s seminar will contribute to international peace and stability, which Turkmenistan is focused on as a permanently neutral state.

Cooperation between our countries in the textile sector has been ongoing since 2009, and since last year the project “Technological Consulting and Solutions from Korea (TASK)” has been actively implemented by the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH).

The textile industry of Turkmenistan is an important industry along with the energy industry, and I hope that the combination of rich cotton resources with Korea’s experience in textile production will contribute to the “revival of the Great Silk Road” in Turkmenistan.

Dear participants!

I hope that today’s seminar will be an opportunity for mutual exchange of experience and technical information in the textile industry for our countries, active communication between textile enterprises, as well as further strengthening of bilateral cooperation.

I would like to thank the representatives of the Ministry of Textile Industry of Turkmenistan, the Korea Institute of Advancement of Technology (KIAT), the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), as well as representatives of textile companies from both countries for their support in organizing today’s seminar.

Thank you. (Köp Sag Boluň!)

Speech of Chief Engineer of Ministry of Textiles of Turkmenistan

Here is the speech of Arslan Amanov, Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Textile Industry of Turkmenistan:

Good afternoon, dear Friends, Dear participants of the seminar.

On behalf of the Ministry of Textile Industry of Turkmenistan, let me welcome all participants of the seminar and wish them fruitful work.

Thanks to the efforts made by the Esteemed President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov to ensure sustainable development of the national economy, the country’s textile industry has become one of the priority sectors of the economy of Turkmenistan. All necessary conditions have been created in the country for the stable development of the domestic textile industry, and work in this direction continues.

Turkmenistan aims to develop a powerful textile industry with the capacity to process local raw materials. The success of this development program will require significant knowledge, investment and new equipment.

Currently, the textile industry of Turkmenistan includes over 60 enterprises that produce various assortments of cotton and blended yarn, raw and finished cotton fabrics and knitted fabrics, raw and finished terry fabrics, denim fabrics, various assortments of blended fabrics and finished garments and knitwear from these fabrics. In addition, the enterprises of the Ministry of Textile Industry of Turkmenistan produce raw leather and footwear.

The enterprises that have been put into operation have established the production of products that meet the most modern requirements of international quality, management and marketing standards.

Along with the introduction of the latest technologies, the industry pays considerable attention to improving the quality and compliance of manufactured products with environmental safety requirements. The products of leading enterprises in the industry have received international recognition and have been awarded ISO 9001 “Production Management and Quality Control System” and ISO 14001 “Environmental Protection” certificates. Currently, about 70 percent of manufactured textile products are exported to Turkey, Russia, China, Poland, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and other countries of the world.

Domestic brands producing modern and at the same time traditional assortment are also gaining export momentum. These are brands such as “BEDEW”, “GALA”, “NUSAÝ”, “ÝEŇIŞ”, “GOZA”, “MIRAS”, “JEÝTUN”, “MÄNE”.

The Ministry of Textile Industry of Turkmenistan closely cooperates in the textile industry with the Korean Institute of Industrial Technology KITECH.

Strengthening and dynamically developing the existing cooperation in the fields of spinning, weaving, finishing and sewing between the Ministry of Textile Industry of Turkmenistan and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology KITECH is our priority goal, to achieve which we have taken the following steps:

In April 2019, the “Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Textile Industry” was signed between the Ministry of Textile Industry of Turkmenistan and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology KITECH. The signing of the Memorandum gave a new impetus to broad interaction in the textile sector to ensure further growth and development of our cooperation.

The launched “TASK” project is a comprehensive work program aimed at assisting textile companies in Turkmenistan in solving technical problems on the ground and their solutions from Korea by promoting continuous technology transfer.

Within the framework of the program, specialists from the Korean Institute of Industrial Technology KITECH have repeatedly visited Turkmenistan to closely familiarize themselves with the activities of the textile industry, and specialists from the Ministry of Textile Industry of Turkmenistan have also visited the Republic of Korea on working visits to improve their qualifications, visited the KITECH Institute, and were also familiarized with the work of leading textile companies specializing in the production of textile products.

Taking into account the above, I would like to note that the Ministry of Textile Industry of Turkmenistan highly appreciates cooperation with Korean partners and hopes that this bilateral cooperation will be long-term and mutually beneficial for each of the parties for the benefit of the prosperity and development of the textile industry.

Thank you for your attention.

Cooperation between Turkmenistan and Korea in Textile Sector

The cooperation between Turkmenistan and Korea mainly takes place in the framework of TASK (Technology Advice and Solutions from Korea).

The main partners are the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy of Korea and its subordinate entities from the Korean side and the ministry of Textiles and its subordinate entities from the Turkmen side.

Under the programme, there were four visits in physical format and one event in online format.

The Turkmen textile units benefiting from the programme:

Ashgabat Textile Complex
Gokdepe Textile Complex
Gypjak Textile Complex
Ruhabat Textile Complex
Turkmenbashy Textile Complex
Kaka Textile Complex
Ashgabat Sewing Association ‘Ahal’
Industrial Sewing Association ‘Bahar’
Mary Sewing Factory ‘Yenish’
Turkmenbashy Jeans Complex

The advice offered by Korea is of very practical nature, bringing the products to the latest trends in the market. For instance:

On the other hand, there is also the provision of information on the latest machinery and technology:

Under the programme, four or five events are scheduled to take place this year.

The technical support this year will cover a number of areas including dyeing and finishing, streamlining of difficulties in stitching/sewing, and virtual creation and design.