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The volume of mutual trade between Russia and Turkmenistan from January to June 2024 increased by 73.5% in monetary terms compared to the same period of 2023. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Dmitry Volvach.

"We have already traded more than $700 million since the beginning of the year, and both exports and imports are growing. The nomenclature of mutual trade is becoming more complex, and the role of high-value-added goods is increasing," he said, speaking at the Turkmenistan Investment Forum (TIF-2024), TASS reported.

Volvach recalled the first Russian-Turkmen business forum held in January last year during the visit of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to Ashgabat: “And it was through this forum that we started to reveal the undiscovered investment and trade potential between our countries. Moreover, the task to diversify Turkmenistan's exports is very much in line with our interest in increasing supplies of Turkmen chemical products, agricultural products and textile industry”.

The products that Russia is ready to supply are in demand, according to Volvach, for the large infrastructure projects being actively implemented in Turkmenistan. These include renewal of the rolling stock of railways, modernization of the gas transport system, construction of new roads, etc.

Currently, preparations are underway for the next meeting of the Intergovernmental Russian-Turkmen Commission on Economic Cooperation," added Volvach. "Right now, the governments of our countries have busy schedules. <...> I think that in the near future, the co-chairs of our intergovernmental commission - Alexei Overchuk and Rashid Meredov - will meet and finally agree on the dates and format of the event," he told reporters in response to a TASS question.

“The key Eurasian transport routes intersect on the territory of Turkmenistan, which allows for the dynamic development of transport and logistics links between the countries of the Central Asian and Caspian regions. Therefore, we also very much rely on continuing to work with the countries of the region to expand railway and road border crossings, modernize railways and fully load ports, primarily Caspian ports,” he said.

He added that cooperation with Turkmenistan in the Caspian Sea is of particular importance for Russia. “Certainly, we are interested in the full-scale launch of the Turkmenistan logistics center project in the port SEZ “Lotus” of the Caspian cluster, agreements on which were reached in January 2023 at the Russian-Turkmen business forum,” Volvach said.

TIF-2024 is taking place in Ashgabat on 10-11 September. The organizers are the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan. The forum is aimed at attracting foreign investment, especially in hydrocarbon resources of the Caspian Sea and the largest gas field “Galkynysh”, as well as demonstrating major projects. These include the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, initiatives in the gas chemistry, electricity, construction, textiles and transport, smart agriculture, and efficient use of water.

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