26.10.2023 Ankara
President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhammedov met with the Turkish business world at the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB). The Türkiye-Turkmenistan Business Forum was hosted by TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu in cooperation with TOBB and the Foreign Economic Relations Board, with the participation of Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhammedov, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır.
In his speech at the
business forum, M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of the Union of Chambers and
Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB), stated that Turkmen companies now want
to invest in Türkiye on a large scale, including industrial production, and
said, “Moving forward, we should aim for our companies to do business in third
countries together with Turkmen companies.”
At the forum at TOBB
Twin Towers, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that Turkmenistan has launched a comprehensive
industrialization and development move.
Stating that
Turkmenistan has become a center of attraction in Central Asia with decisive
steps in line with this vision, Hisarcıklıoğlu continued as follows:
“The number of projects
undertaken by Turkish companies in Turkmenistan has reached nearly 2,000. The
value of these projects is around 51 billion dollars. Turkmenistan is one of
the countries in the world where the Turkish private sector has undertaken the
highest number of projects. I would like to thank the Honorable President for
his trust and confidence in Turkish entrepreneurs. Thanks to your support,
Turkish contracting companies have risen to the second place in the world
scale.”
Stating that the
Turkmen companies that came with the delegation now want to invest in Türkiye
on a large scale, including industrial production, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Moving
forward, we should aim for our companies to do business in third countries
together with Turkmen companies. We have initiative groups doing this; we need
to increase their number even more.”
Pointing out that
Turkmenistan is rapidly progressing towards becoming an international center in
the field of transportation and transport, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Yesterday, we
used to call the Caspian Sea ‘the sea that separates us’. Thanks to you, the
Caspian Sea will be ‘the sea that unites us’ from now on. It is in our hands to
turn this opportunity into a common gain. For this, we would also like to thank
you for reducing the port costs in Turkmenistan.”
- “We want our region to be a trade base”
Hisarcıklıoğlu
emphasized that Turkmenistan’s opening its borders to transit for foreign
drivers is a very positive development and said, “We want to revive the
historical Silk Road with wide train networks, road transportation lines,
energy corridors, and to be the trade base of our region by working together
again.”
Stating that they are
also working hard for the Trans-Caspian Natural Gas Pipeline Project,
Hisarcıklıoğlu said: “As the Turkish private sector, we are ready to contribute
to this. If we do these, we will also ensure that the Middle Corridor stands
out in the transportation between China and Europe. The world is in the midst
of a great change. The center of gravity of the global economy is shifting from
west to east. In such an environment, cooperation between Türkiye and
Turkmenistan will change the fate of the entire region. Because Türkiye and
Turkmenistan are the leading actors of this region. Together, we can make the
Turkic geography a center of peace and prosperity. We can open new horizons for
the Turkic world. Today, we have once again confirmed that we are two different
states of one nation.”
- Turkmenistan President Berdimuhamedov
In his speech,
President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov pointed out that the transport
and communication sector is promising and noted that the aim is to create a
joint “transport and logistics center” with the participation of state and
private companies in order to strengthen and harmoniously carry out the
cooperation process in this field.
Pointing out that the
agricultural sector is one of the important areas of the economy,
Berdimuhamedov said, “Our main task is to ensure food security of our countries
and to contribute to international efforts in this direction.” Berdimuhamedov
underlined that they have invested a large amount in the agricultural sector in
his country.
Emphasizing the threats
posed by climate change, Berdimuhamedov stated that they plan to modernize
water supply and distribution systems and that they attach importance to
regional and international cooperation in this project.
- Call for cooperation in the field of information and
technology
Berdimuhamedov,
referring to the project on the expansion of the Karakum Canal in Turkmenistan
and the renewal of the infrastructure of its side canals, said that they are in
close contact with Turkish companies in this regard.
Stating that the
importance of science and technology is increasing, Berdimuhamedov proposed to
develop cooperation in the field of technology and said, “In this framework, I
think it is necessary to establish cooperation between the companies of the two
countries specialized in the field of information and communication
technologies. I express the readiness of the Turkmen side to carry out joint
activities in this direction.”
"The Turkmen side
aims to raise trade and economic relations with Türkiye to a new level in terms
of quality," Berdimuhamedov said, adding that they are open to hearing
proposals if they are suitable for both sides.
Berdimuhamedov stated
that cooperation talks could be continued within the framework of the Turkic
Export Products Exhibition to be organized in Turkmenistan on December 6-8 and
suggested that the next Türkiye-Turkmenistan Business Forum be held in
Ashgabat.
- Vice President Yılmaz
Vice President Cevdet
Yılmaz said that the relations between Turkmenistan and Türkiye are supported
by a strong political will at the level of leaders, have historical depth and
are enriched in every aspect.
Stating that one of the
most concrete indicators of the relations between Türkiye and Turkmenistan is
in the field of trade, Yılmaz said: “Praise Allah, our trade has been on a good
upward trend in recent years. In 2022, trade between the countries exceeded 2
billion dollars. With the trade volume we reached in the first nine months of
2023, we have already surpassed the 2022 figure, our trade has reached a volume
of 2.1 billion dollars. We believe that we will reach 3 billion dollars by the
end of the year.”
Stating that the
bilateral trade volume target is 5 billion dollars and that this target will be
reached as soon as possible with the efforts and partnerships of the business
world of Türkiye-Turkmenistan, Yılmaz said:
“Another very important
field in Turkmenistan is the contracting sector. When you look at it, we see
1077 projects and a contracting sector volume exceeding 50 billion dollars.
This is a very important figure. This corresponds to 11 percent of the projects
undertaken by our contractors worldwide and Turkmenistan is the second largest market
for Turkish contracting after the Russian Federation. In this respect, we have
indeed taken a very important distance.”
Vice President Yılmaz
stated that the Turkish Export Products Fair will be held in Turkmenistan on
December 6-8 and that they expect the business world to show great interest in
the fair.
- Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır
In his speech at the
Türkiye-Turkmenistan Business Forum, Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet
Fatih Kacır stated that the heads of state of Türkiye and Turkmenistan are
acting in line with the goal of increasing the trade volume of the two
countries to 5 billion dollars and said, “We invite our Turkmen friends to
invest more in Türkiye and take advantage of the opportunities offered by our
country.”
In his speech, Kacır
said that the reflections on investments and trade will be stronger with the
understanding of mutual respect, cooperation and serving the common interests
of the peoples.
Kacır said that they
aim to increase the trade volume between the parties from 2.1 billion dollars
in 2022 to 5 billion dollars as soon as possible and to increase the number of
Turkish investments in Turkmenistan. Minister Kacır said that Turkish companies
are responsible for more than 1000 projects in Turkmenistan, including many
industrial facilities.
Stating that Turkish
companies and investors are aware that Turkmenistan is a growing market with
significant opportunities, Kacır said: “The renewal of the Agreement on Mutual
Encouragement and Protection of Investments signed in 1992 will be an important
step to reach our heads of state’s target of a trade volume of 5 billion
dollars. We invite our Turkmen friends, with whom we share a common history,
language, religion and culture, to invest more in Türkiye and take advantage of
the opportunities offered by our country.”