On Tuesday, April 15, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov held talks with head of the Japanese Government Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo. The official meeting ceremony was held in the office of the Prime Minister of Japan, where the head of Turkmenistan was given due honors.

After the photo ceremony against the backdrop of the national flags of the two countries, a Joint Press Release was adopted, and the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan on the implementation of energy transitions was announced.

Opening the talks at the highest level, Shigeru Ishiba noted that this is the first visit to Japan for President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, and thanked the distinguished guest for accepting the invitation to visit the country. Congratulating the head of state on the successful holding of the National Day of Turkmenistan at EXPO 2025, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba noted the high level of organization of events on the occasion of this event.

The Prime Minister noted that Japan highly appreciates Turkmenistan's initiatives to ensure peace and sustainable development in the region and on the planet, as well as the neutral legal status of the country, three times enshrined in UN General Assembly Resolutions.

Having thanked Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on his own behalf, as well as on behalf of the delegation of Turkmenistan for the hospitality, the head of state conveyed sincere greetings and best wishes from the National Leader of the Turkmen people.

President Serdar Berdimuhamedov congratulated the head of the Japanese Government on the opening of EXPO 2025 in Osaka, noting that the World Expo is a vivid symbol of innovation, cultural exchange and cooperation at the global level.

As noted, Turkmenistan and Japan successfully interact in all key areas. An active political dialogue is being carried out between the two countries, trade and economic ties are dynamically developing, and cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian sphere continues. Particular attention is paid to strengthening inter-parliamentary contacts. The Turkmen-Japanese partnership is also successfully developing within the framework of the Dialogue "Central Asia + Japan", which is an effective form of multilateral cooperation. Within the framework of this format, a number of regional economic projects are being implemented, which cover such areas as agriculture, transport and investment.

Serdar Berdimuhamedov focused on the main areas of bilateral relations. The first is interaction in the political and diplomatic sphere, the President of Turkmenistan said, emphasizing that our country attaches particular importance to the further development of the Turkmen-Japanese political dialogue. In this regard, in order to build up bilateral relations, it was proposed to intensify contacts between the foreign ministries, as well as the representative offices of both countries to international organizations.

The second is the expansion of trade and economic contacts. To date, a number of large projects have been implemented in Turkmenistan with the participation of Japanese companies. In this context, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov confirmed our country's readiness to continue implementing new economic projects with Japanese partners. Among them are the construction of a second plant for the production of ammonia and carbamide, as well as a second plant for the production of gasoline from natural gas.

The head of state named cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian sphere as the third vector. Various cultural events organized by the Embassy of Japan are regularly held in Turkmenistan - Japanese Cinema Days, ikebana presentations, and demonstrations of Japanese cuisine. In 2024, a monument to Japanese writer Yasunari Kawabata was erected in the Magtymguly Pyragy cultural and park complex in Ashgabat.

Direct contacts have been established between higher education institutions of the two countries. Turkmenistan attaches great importance to studying the Japanese language, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov said, continuing that today the Japanese language is taught in a number of universities and schools in our country.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan's permanent neutrality, and the main event of the year will be the International Forum, which will be held on December 12 in Ashgabat, Serdar Berdimuhamedov said and invited Shigeru Ishiba to take part in the Forum.

ORIENT