Baku, July 29 | ORIENT. Yesterday, the 8th meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Cooperation in the Economic and Humanitarian Spheres between Turkmenistan and the Republic of Azerbaijan was held in the capital of Azerbaijan. The meeting, co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister of Turkmenistan Nokerguly Atagulyev and Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Mikayil Jabbarov, was an important step towards further deepening bilateral ties.

Strategic Dialogue: From Leaders' Trust to New Projects

The agenda included key areas: trade, energy, transport, industry, business, agriculture and, of course, stimulation of mutual investments. It was especially emphasized that the high level of trust and mutual understanding between the heads of the two states is crucial for strengthening this strategic partnership. Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan are already successfully implementing important joint projects and initiatives covering the economic, trade, energy, transport and humanitarian spheres.

Particular attention was paid to investment cooperation. Today, 75 companies with Turkmen capital are actively operating in Azerbaijan in such areas as industry, transport, construction, trade and services, which indicates growing trust and attractiveness of each other's markets.

Energy and Transit: Key Tracks of Interaction

The countries have enormous potential for expanding cooperation in the energy sector. Azerbaijan, which has a developed infrastructure for energy exports, has expressed its readiness to discuss mutually beneficial mechanisms of interaction.

Joint work on reviving the transcontinental East-West corridor and increasing the efficiency of the Middle Corridor plays a special role. The volume of transit traffic between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan has demonstrated stable growth: if at the end of last year this figure exceeded 2 million tons, then in the first half of this year it has already reached 1 million tons. This underlines the growing importance of our countries as key transport hubs in the region.

Prospects and Invitations for Cooperation

The meeting also discussed opportunities for strengthening partnership in trade, industrial parks, business development, agriculture and the potential of the Alat Free Economic Zone. The Azerbaijani side presented information on its growing economic indicators, favorable business and investment environment, as well as the prospects of the Zangezur corridor, actively inviting Turkmen investors to cooperate.

Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Nokerguly Atagulyev, for his part, emphasized the broad prospects for developing mutually beneficial cooperation in a variety of areas and shared Turkmenistan's vision for further strengthening the partnership.

At the end of the meeting, the parties signed a protocol that formalizes agreements on expanding cooperation in trade and economic, energy, transport, agriculture and other areas. This meeting confirmed the mutual desire of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan to further deepen the strategic partnership for the benefit of the prosperity of the entire region.