BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 19. Turkmenistan and Russia are showing active dynamics in expanding bilateral trade and economic cooperation, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Turkmenistan Ivan Volinkyn told Trend in an exclusive interview.
"Over the past five years, Russia has been one of Turkmenistan's main trading partners, with an annual turnover exceeding $1.6 billion. At the same time, the supply of Turkmen products to the Russian market is constantly increasing; imports of textiles and food products to Russia have almost doubled," Volinkyn said.
According to him, economic relations between the two countries are being discussed at a consistently high level, including within the framework of a specially created Intergovernmental Russian-Turkmen Commission.
"The inaugural Russian-Turkmen Business Forum was held in Ashgabat in January 2023. This indicates the high business activity of entrepreneurs and the mutually beneficial nature of doing business," he stressed.
The Ambassador stressed that the best guideline for Russian investors is the strategy of Turkmenistan until 2052, which defines the vector of socio-economic development of the country for the long term.
"Turkmenistan plans to increase investments in the formation of transportation and logistics corridors, the modernization of the fuel and energy complex, the development of new and innovative industries, and agricultural reform with an eye toward producing environmentally friendly products within the framework of medium-term programs. This strategy aids in the cooperative execution of infrastructure projects and the growth of bilateral trade between our nations," Volinkyn added.
Furthermore, he mentioned that the transport ministries of Turkmenistan and Russia are currently working together more closely, with a focus on their combined efforts to boost traffic along the International North-South Transport Corridor's eastern route.
"Currently, Russian Railways JSC is negotiating with Turkmen partners to increase the volume of transit by rail through the introduction of end-to-end cargo flow technology, setting up electronic data exchange on routes, creating competitive tariff conditions, and attracting additional cargo volumes through multilateral logistics companies," Volinkyn said.
He noted that there is potential for the development of multimodal opportunities with the inclusion of the transport corridor, Turkmenbashi International Seaport in Turkmenistan, and the Caspian Sea highway, whose construction is being considered with the Russian company "Vozrozhdenie."
The ambassador highlights that there is a lot of potential for commercial and economic cooperation between Turkmenistan and Russia.
"Advanced technologies are being introduced through collaborative efforts in the development of industrial and infrastructure facilities, land cadastral management, and geological investigation. In the domains of sports, tourism, education, health, irrigation, and seed production, collaboration is actively taking place. This level of corporate links validates the status of the strategic cooperation between Russia and Turkmenistan, which is protected by pertinent bilateral agreements," Volinkyn added.
Meanwhile, Russia is Turkmenistan's leading partner in terms of trade turnover among the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Foundation of the International North-South Transport Corridor was laid on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement signed between Russia, Iran, and India on September 12, 2000.
In total, 13 countries (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Armenia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Russia, Tajikistan, Türkiye and Ukraine) have ratified the agreement.
Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel