BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. Turkmenistan will benefit from the development of cooperation with Belgium, a source in the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, and Development Cooperation told Trend.
"Belgium and Turkmenistan established diplomatic relations on February 1, 1993. Our relations with Turkmenistan have been good. Yet, there is a need for more open dialogue. The Belgian ambassador to Turkmenistan, with residence in Baku, presented his credentials to the Turkmen authorities in 2023 and had several high-level meetings in Ashgabat," the source said.
Furthermore, a source in the ministry stressed that Belgium cooperates with Turkmenistan not only at the bilateral level but also through the EU.
"Turkmenistan participated in the 15th Human Rights Dialogue as well as in the 22nd Joint Committee between the EU and Turkmenistan in December 2023. Turkmenistan has expressed interest in expanding its cooperation with the EU, in particular in the transport sector, which is a priority for the Turkmen authorities," the source added.
Meanwhile, Eurostat data show that Turkmenistan and Belgium have been actively increasing their trade relations in recent years, supporting the growth of mutually beneficial trade turnover, totaling more than 104.7 million euros from the beginning of 2018 to the end of 2023.
The largest trade turnover between Turkmenistan and Belgium over these years occurred in 2022 (34 million euros) and the smallest in 2018 (8.13 million euros).