The new Turkish Ambassador to Turkmenistan met with representatives of the country's media
The new Turkish Ambassador to Turkmenistan, Ahmet Demirok, met with representatives of the country's media.
In his speech at the press conference, the diplomat noted the rapidly developing nature of relations between Turkmenistan and Turkey, based on common history, language, religion and culture. This was facilitated by mutual visits at the highest level, which have become more intense in recent years.
The visit of National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to Ankara on March 16, 2023 on the occasion of the extraordinary summit of the Organization of Turkic States, the participation of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov in the oath-taking ceremony of Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan on October 25-26, 2023 made a significant contribution to the deepening of bilateral cooperation.
According to the ambassador, over the past four years, the current volume of trade between Turkmenistan and Turkey has tripled. In 2022, trade turnover reached $2.1 billion. And last year, Turkish companies implemented 7 projects worth $3.2 billion.
“The potential of our cooperation is much greater. With the current positive course of our trade relations, we think that in the near future the volume of mutual trade will increase even more, and we will easily be able to achieve our common goal of $5 billion,” Ahmet Demirok said, expressing the interest of Turkish companies in the construction of the second stage of the smart city "Arkadag".
Since Turkmenistan gained independence, Turkish companies have successfully completed about 1,080 projects worth more than $50 billion in Turkmenistan. This indicates Turkmenistan’s enormous trust in Turkish companies.
The diplomat also spoke about the enormous potential for interaction between the two countries in the field of culture. In this regard, the ambassador expressed the diplomatic mission’s readiness to participate in events planned within the framework of the Year of “The Fount of the Mind of Magtymguly Fragi” declared in Turkmenistan.
The embassy is also ready to provide support in holding events that will take place in Turkmenistan on the occasion of declaring the city of Anau the capital of the Turkic world in 2024.
Regarding the topic of transport and logistics, Ahmet Demirok pointed out the important steps that Turkey is taking to become a gas hub. Turkey currently transports Caspian gas to Europe via the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP). The pipeline is part of the Southern Gas Corridor and transports Azerbaijani gas from the Shah Deniz field in the Caspian Sea to Turkey and on to Europe via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
“Turkmenistan occupies an important position not only in the field of natural gas exports, but also electricity thanks to its existing and under construction energy conversion plants. We hope that work will begin soon on transporting Turkmen natural gas and electricity to Western markets,” the ambassador said.
The number of Turkmen citizens wishing to receive education in higher educational institutions in Turkey is growing from year to year. Currently, 15 thousand Turkmen students are studying in Turkish universities.
A scholarship program supported by the Turkish government has recently opened, allowing students and researchers from around the world to take advantage of study programs at Turkish universities.
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