Over the last days, bilateral relations actively develop in between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. It is testified by the events which took place last week between the two countries. The business people of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan held first meeting last week during Azerbaijani-Turkmen business-forum in Ashkhabad in order to make economies of the two countries closer. Azerbaijan held presentation of country's investment opportunities. Firstly, business people of the two countries displayed interest in non-oil sector. Thus, to participate in the business-forum, interest was displayed by the countries specialized in production of construction materials, food industry, tourism.
Due to such large interest in the forum, there are plans to organize business-forums on separate fields between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, especially with regards to construction, textile, chemical and food industries, financial sphere, processing, metallurgy, etc. Azerbaijan intends to use Turkmenistan's market both as raw base where it is possible to supply fruits and vegetables. According to Azerbaijani statistics, as a result of the last year, the trade turnover between the two countries totaled $53.9mln. The Governments of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan imposed a target to increase the trade turnover up to $500mln during the next two-five years.
Still the base of the Azerbaijani-Turkmen relations is made of energy sector. Last week Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, has issued a decree to hold an international conference 'Oil and gas potential in Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan: energy, economy and ecology. The cooperation strategy' in Baku. The decree is aimed to strengthen the bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, as well as to increase the efficiency to use the energy resources in both the countries, taking into consideration the significance to carry out regional and international energy projects on the mutual beneficial grounds.
The intentions to hold international energy conference, which is an important table for both countries, were also supported by the bilateral relations. Thus, on 18 June the President of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), Ronvag Abdullayev, received Turkmen delegation headed by the Director of the State Agency for Use and Management of the Oil and Gas Resources, Bayram Muradov. The meeting focused on holding international conference 'Oil and gas potential in Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan: energy, economy and ecology'.
Turkmenistan President Gurbangulu Berdimuhammad received Rovnag Abdullayev, President of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR). The sides exchanged the opinion regarding the possible and prospectus directions in mutual beneficial cooperation in the economy of the both countries, which have huge hydrocarbon, fuel and energy reserves, in particular, in the oil sector. In this connection the mutual beneficial issues on the Caspian Sea was also touched upon.
The relations between the two countries were restored after the election of President Gurbangulu Berdimuhammad. The agreement on the economic relations was reached after the first visit of the Turkmen President to Azerbaijan. At the same time, the Turkmen Embassy was re-opened in Baku. The Embassy of Turkmenistan in Azerbaijan was transferred from Baku to Ashgabad during soothing of political and economic relations between the countries in 2001. The differences between the countries worsened due to the disputable fields in the Caspian Sea (Kapaz), disputes in defining the sea border line and the sum of Azerbaijani state debt to Turkmenistan since 1990s. Azerbaijan paid off its debt worth $ 44.8mln to Turkmenistan for the purchased gas on threshold of Turkmen President's visit to Azerbaijan. Certain promotions are reached regarding the status of the Caspian Sea.