On Monday, December 1, the Romanian Embassy in Turkmenistan held a gala reception in Ashgabat to celebrate National Day of Romania. Minister of Finance and Economy Mammetguly Astanagulov attended the event, held at the Yildiz Hotel, as the honorary guest of the Government of Turkmenistan.

Addressing the guests, Romanian Ambassador Ion Naval emphasized that Turkmenistan is Romania's key partner in Central Asia. He noted that over the past 33 years, bilateral relations have developed and strengthened across a wide range of areas: from political dialogue to water resource management and the development of connectivity.

The Ambassador drew the guests' attention to the significant progress in transport and communications, a key area of bilateral cooperation. He recalled that the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Liberalization of Road Transport was signed in Ashgabat in early 2025. Ambassador Naval noted that Romania has become the first EU country to fully open its market to road transport companies from Turkmenistan, emphasizing the reciprocal regime that Romanian companies now enjoy.

The diplomat also focused on the development of the Black Sea – Caspian Sea International Transport Route. This Romanian-Turkmen initiative, promoted in a quadrilateral format (Romania, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia), aims to create a 2,500-kilometer intermodal corridor between Europe and Central Asia. The Ambassador announced that the signing of an intergovernmental agreement on the creation and operation of this route is planned for the near future in Romania.

Ambassador Naval emphasized that the Romanian authorities are paying particular attention to promoting the private sector abroad, and Romanian companies are showing genuine interest in the Turkmen market.

As a compelling example, he cited Herbal Therapy Laboratories, one of the largest Eastern European companies producing cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, which is already present in the Turkmen market (and which president also participated in the reception).

Furthermore, Chimcomplex, the largest chemical company in Eastern Europe, intends to invest in innovative projects in Turkmenistan aimed at developing complex petrochemical products.

Dialogue continues actively through the Intergovernmental Joint Commission (co-chaired by Minister Astanagulov on the Turkmen side) and in the energy sector (the eighth meeting of the working group was held in Ashgabat in April 2025).

The Ambassador noted that Romania has significantly increased the number of scholarships for Turkmen students, welcoming the trend toward diversification: young citizens are choosing to study not only traditional fields of petroleum engineering but also medicine, biotechnology, and computer science.

In conclusion, Ambassador Ion Naval warmly congratulated Turkmenistan on the upcoming celebration of the 30th anniversary of its permanent neutrality, emphasizing that this principle has transformed into openness to international dialogue and a commitment to peaceful solutions.

ORIENT