Foreign Ministers of Turkmenistan and Japan Held Talks in Ashgabat
On August 30, talks were held in Ashgabat between Turkmenistan's Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov and Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, who arrived in the country on an official visit.
The visit by the Japanese Foreign Minister continued intensive high-level dialogue. Motegi noted that the President of Turkmenistan's visit to Japan during the World Expo 2025 in Osaka and the Central Asia + Japan Dialogue Summit gave a powerful boost to bilateral relations.
The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to deepening interagency cooperation and expressed gratitude for their mutual support of international legal initiatives within the UN. Japan reiterated its respect for Turkmenistan's neutral status and its role in ensuring regional stability.
Industrial-investment vector remains the key foundation of cooperation. The Turkmen side highly appreciated the contribution of leading Japanese corporations—Sumitomo, Toyo Engineering, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, ITOCHU, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries—to the creation of modern gas chemical and energy facilities in the country.
A new stage of partnership will be the combination of Turkmenistan's abundant natural resources with Tokyo's advanced technologies. The foreign ministers emphasized their readiness to develop cooperation in artificial intelligence, data processing, and the circular economy (resource management).
A detailed roadmap for these projects will be discussed at the upcoming joint meeting of the Turkmen-Japanese and Japanese-Turkmen Committees on Economic Cooperation in Tokyo this year.
The diplomats paid special attention to education and language ties. They noted that approximately 15,000 people are currently studying Japanese in Turkmenistan, calling young people "a true bridge of friendship" between the two nations.
The meeting resulted in the signing of a Cooperation Program between the foreign ministries of the two countries for 2027–2029.
