Today we see Austrian companies as reliable and promising partners. They are distinguished by high professionalism, responsibility, understanding of the mutual benefits and value of cooperation with Turkmenistan, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov said at a joint business event at the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber on Tuesday, March 12.

The Deputy Prime Minister headed the Turkmen delegation during a visit to Vienna, during which an exchange of views was organized in the format of a round table with influential persons of the Austrian business circles. The new meeting was a continuation of contacts established during several Austrian business missions to Ashgabat to identify cross-interests.

Before the start of the current discussions, with a focus on moving to the practical plane of interaction, the heads of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chamber of Commerce and the Healthcare system of Turkmenistan met with the Vice-President of the Federal Economic Chamber of Austria Philippe Gadi in a narrow format. Then other members of the Turkmen delegation and representatives of dozens of Austrian companies joined the dialogue.

In the introductory part, a voluminous description of Turkmenistan's economic potential was given, illustrated by such macro indicators as stable GDP growth, which in 2023 amounted to 6.3%, which means about 61 billion US dollars.

For those interested in industry dynamics, the following figures were given: industrial complex + 4.3%, construction + 2%, transport and communication sector + 8.4%, trade + 12.8%, agriculture + 4.4%, service sector + 5.1%. Overall output + 7.8%.

Turkmenistan's foreign trade turnover amounted to about $21 billion by the end of 2023. At the same time, exports prevail over imports by 1.7 times – their volume is 11.4 billion US dollars.

The attention of the Austrian partners was drawn to the fact that Turkmenistan, increasing the share of products from processing industries in exports, continues the policy of diversifying energy exports. In 2023, Turkmen natural gas was supplied to China, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan. The geography of exports of petroleum products, electricity and mineral fertilizers is expanding.

Revenues from hydrocarbon exports allow the country to actively invest in the development of high-value-added industries. Investments in the economy by the end of 2023 amounted to more than 11 billion US dollars, which is 7.8% higher than in 2022.

By improving the investment climate and business environment, Turkmenistan creates conditions for attracting foreign investment in the form of direct financial investments in manufacturing enterprises. In recent years, a number of such investment projects have been implemented in the gas chemical sector. These are new plants for the production of ammonia, urea, polypropylene, polyethylene, and synthetic gasoline.

As for the Austrian business, such sectors as energy, transport, agriculture, digitalization, green economy and others were highlighted among the promising areas of cooperation.

The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber coordinates the activities and represents the interests of the Austrian business community at the national and international levels. It unites chambers of nine federal states and 110 trade associations representing the country's industries. Membership in the Chamber is mandatory for Austrian companies, so it includes all operating firms in the country: about 430,000 enterprises in a wide variety of business areas.

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