Turkmenistan invited Austrian experts on agriculture
According to the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations of Turkmenistan, Austria took 28th place in the country’s foreign trade turnover for 2023. During this period, trade between the two countries amounted to US$37.74 million, down 59.5% from the previous year. In this regard, there is reason to discuss ways to increase trade cooperation between both countries. The vision of these paths was voiced by Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan Mergen Gurdov during a round table at the Federal Economic Chamber of Austria.
The head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan touched upon a wide range of issues of bilateral partnership, placing some emphasis on the benefits of cooperation in the agricultural sector.
He said that producers of agricultural products in Turkmenistan are completely exempt from taxes, land plots for agricultural purposes are provided on favorable terms for a period of up to 99 years. (For industrial facilities this period is shorter, but still quite long - up to 39 years). Thanks to this, the share of the private sector in agriculture of Turkmenistan is gradually increasing and currently exceeds 90%.
The Republic of Austria is a high-tech country with a highly developed agriculture. Even in the pre-pandemic period, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan, together with the Federal Economic Chamber, organized working visits, including to agricultural complexes, which resulted in the supply of breeding cattle to Turkmenistan, carried out by the Central Association of Livestock Breeders of Austria.
In this regard, the head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan spoke about the advisability of organizing new visits of Austrian agricultural experts to Turkmenistan in order to deepen partnership and implement new projects.
Cooperation was proposed in such areas as studying the possibilities of new Austrian technologies and equipment for use in agriculture of Turkmenistan, for processing meat, dairy and vegetable products, as well as in the production of ice cream and confectionery products.
Moreover, in the country, as Mergen Gurdov assured, the leadership of Turkmenistan has created favorable conditions for investment and work of foreign companies, as well as for the development of small and medium-sized businesses.
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