Austrian business is ready to interact with Turkmenistan in practice
When the last events dedicated to the International Day of Neutrality were over, the guests of our country, among whom there were many representatives of ministries and departments of foreign countries, international organizations, large companies, continued to meet with their Turkmen colleagues, hold working negotiations and consultations. And only after their completion, they began to leave for their countries.
And among the last of them, Neda Berger, the head of the Austrian–Turkmen Society and part-time correspondent of the ORIENT website, left Turkmenistan.
And already at the International Airport of the Turkmen capital, we asked her to say a few words for our readers. What these few words resulted in; you will learn from the material:
– First of all, I want to say that this trip took place after a three-year break caused by the pandemic, except for last year's visit of the delegation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria, in which I was lucky enough to visit Ashgabat again.
The current trip for me resulted in another trembling admiration for the Turkmen capital, a surge of emotions from meetings with good friends and new acquaintances. Our delegation was entrusted with a purely working mission – to restore bilateral economic, cultural and humanitarian ties that were put on pause due to the global coronavirus epidemic.
Our delegation included the heads and representatives of about 40 well-known Austrian companies, which indicates Austria's great interest in cooperation with Turkmenistan.
The schedule was extremely busy – we took part in the next meeting of the Turkmen-Austrian commission on trade, economic and industrial cooperation, in a bilateral business forum, as well as in a number of business meetings and negotiations.
We also visited a number of large private and state-owned enterprises. In addition, a trip to Turkmenbashi took place, where the Austrian delegation got acquainted with the work of the International Seaport, there were also meetings with the heads of official structures and Turkmen private companies.
I was lucky enough to take part in the events dedicated to the International Day of Neutrality and in which fifty States were represented.
I want to remind you that Austria is also a neutral country. This year she celebrated 67 years of her neutrality. The permanent neutrality of Austria and Turkmenistan brings both sides closer together in their approaches and principles for the development of international cooperation.
The main and unforgettable event of these days for me was a meeting with the head of the upper house of Parliament Gurbanguly Myalikgulyevich Berdimuhamedov. The very fact that I was awarded such an honor makes me proud and deeply grateful. I was very touched by this meeting.
It was a warm conversation – the head of the Halk Maslahaty highly appreciated the activities of the Austrian-Turkmen Society, of which he is the initiator and inspirer, since the Society was established 14 years ago during his first official visit to Austria, in November 2008.
Since then, the Society has implemented a number of projects, including the Vienna Balls in Ashgabat, the publication of the Galkynysh magazine in Vienna and the creation of the website of the Austrian-Turkmen Society itself, which is visited by readers from around the world.
A special project, unique in its kind, is the Turkmen-Austrian Symphony Orchestra "Galkynysh", which was also formed on the initiative of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. I am very grateful for his patronage of all our projects, thanks to which they were all successful. And during the current meeting, the issue of holding the fifth Vienna Ball in 2023 was raised.
The work of the Austrian-Turkmen Society continued during the pandemic – we mastered the online format of joint events, even organized concerts of the Galkynysh orchestra in this mode. But how wonderful it is to be able to come to Ashgabat again and meet personally with everyone who is interested in developing bilateral relations!
As the head of the Austrian-Turkmen Society, I see his mission in acting as a bridge between the two neutral countries, strengthening cultural and humanitarian ties, expanding economic relations and business contacts. And, of course, information work is an important aspect of our activity.
Fake news dominates the global space, so we are making efforts to cover everything that is happening in Turkmenistan: in the political sphere, economic, culture, sports, etc.
It is with great pleasure that I perform the duties of my own correspondent for the ORIENT website in Austria and I am very proud to be accredited by the press service of our Chancellor. In July, it was extended for the next two years.
I would like to express my great gratitude to the President of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, for also paying attention to the projects of the Austrian-Turkmen Society.
Recently I was presented with a wonderful book by Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov "The Meaning of my life". She prompted me to think about the meaning of my life. It seems to me that this book is primarily an appeal to the youth of Turkmenistan. "Find yourself, stay human," the author urges.
Under the impression of reading this book, I wrote a poem. It was an incredible surprise for me that on December 12, the day of the celebration of the 27th anniversary of Turkmen neutrality, my poem "Stay Human" was published in the central newspapers of Turkmenistan.
And I would like to say a few words about the prospects for economic cooperation between our countries. The Board of the Austrian-Turkmen Society includes well-known Austrian manufacturing companies that show great interest in cooperation with Turkmen companies.
This includes the world-famous construction company Waagner Biro steel and glass, which is already 175 years old, which has established ties with the City Hall of Ashgabat, with the Ministry of Construction of Turkmenistan… But due to the pandemic, direct contacts between colleagues of the two countries were suspended. And now we are restoring these ties by mutual efforts.
Two gigantic projects are being implemented in the construction sector in Turkmenistan. One of them is being prepared for commissioning – this is the first stage of the construction of a new administrative center of the Akhal region.
Johann Siska, CEO of a very large company Waagner Biro, steel and glass, and I visited the construction sites of the future administrative center in Ahala.
There we met with responsible managers who told us about the progress of the construction of this unique smart city.
Johann Siska was greatly impressed by what he saw – he was very surprised by the scale and pace of construction.
Although he does not know Turkmenistan by intuition, but he does not cease to admire the skill of Turkmen urban planners.
And not only that – he is also delighted with how reverently Turkmens treat their national heritage.
Johann Sishka noted that if a Turkmen wants to please someone, he gives something from the national heritage, and at the same time he is happy with the gift he has made.
Experts said that in the foreseeable future it is planned to begin the construction of a mesh project - Ashgabat City. The experience, knowledge, and technologies of Waagner Biro can make a very useful and significant contribution to the implementation of such large-scale urban development plans.
No less relevant for cooperation are possible joint projects in the fields of medicine, industry, logistics, IT technologies, etc. For example, two large pharmaceutical companies Sigmafarm and DiproMed, also members of the Board of the Turkmen-Austrian Society, are interested in promoting in the Turkmen market.
During the negotiations that were held under the program of the business forum, I presented their proposals to representatives of the Turkmen Ministry of Health and Medical Industry.
Pharmaceutical companies Sigmafarm and DiproMed already have contacts with the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan, before the pandemic, the first delivery of DiproMed products to Turkmenistan was made. A number of Sigmafarm drugs are registered in Turkmenistan, and a month ago this list was expanded by two more positions.
Both companies are ready to start manufacturing their products in Turkmenistan. These proposals have been put forward and are awaiting a decision from the Turkmen side. The Austrian side is also ready to invite Turkmen specialists to Austria for internships or to organize an exchange of experience online.
The meeting with representatives of the Ashgabat City Hall was also productive and businesslike.
Although there has already been quite a lot of "online" over these three years, I think it's time to move directly to the face-to-face format of negotiations and contacts, to concrete actions in practice. Austria is ready!
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