Ashgabat and Paris "synchronized watches" in the field of economic and cultural cooperation
The next round of political consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France was held in Ashgabat on January 16-17.
The delegation of Turkmenistan was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Vepa Khadzhiev, and the French side was headed by Deputy Director of the Department of Continental Europe of the French Foreign Ministry Sylvain Gouguet.
During the consultations, "a wide range of issues of bilateral cooperation in the political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres" was discussed, the press service of the Turkmen Foreign Ministry reports.
The interaction within the framework of international and regional organizations, through the UN was considered. A separate topic of the meeting was the implementation of the EU Strategy for Central Asia. At the same time, mutual interest was expressed to continue the dialogue in the field of the humanitarian dimension.
The diplomats exchanged views on the international agenda, touching upon some aspects of energy and environmental security.
Readiness was expressed to intensify the activities of the Intergovernmental Turkmen-French Commission on Economic Cooperation and the Working Group on Energy.
There was also a thorough exchange of views on increasing the volume of mutual trade and promising joint business projects. Among the important areas of trade and economic cooperation at the talks was the branch of communications.
At the meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, diplomats also paid attention to long-standing cooperation in the field of archeology. An example of the continuation of such interaction today is the joint preparation for the exhibition of unique artifacts from Turkmenistan in the Louvre in Paris in 2024.
France was the first Western country to enter the market of Turkmenistan. In 1993, French President Francois Mitterrand received the first Turkmen president in Paris. In 1994, he became the first head of a Western state to visit Ashgabat.
In 1994, France opened its embassy in Ashgabat, and Turkmenistan in Paris. In the same year, large French groups signed their first contracts in the country: Thomson CFS/Thales was entrusted with the modernization of air traffic control, and the Bouygues group with the construction of prestigious facilities in Ashgabat.
Since then, many significant joint projects have been implemented: the country's first communication satellite Alem52E was built at the Thales Alenia Space plant in Cannes, the Congress Palace in Ashgabat was built by Bouygues, and the Cabinet of Ministers building was built by the Vinci group. The French presence in the Turkmen market is supported by the French business association MEDEF International.
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