Turkmenistan Weekly News Analysis

The Consultancy group CIFAL was the first French company to work with Turkmenistan in 1993, and at the end of last month, its head Gilles Remy came to Ashgabat to meet with President Berdymukhamedov to discuss cooperation in the fuel and energy sector, and on construction and civil aviation. French firm Schneider Electric signed an agreement with the Turkmen government to ensure necessary electrical energy supplies in Ashgabat. The French firm Thales Alenia Space signed a contract with the Turkmen government in late 2011 to build Turkmenistan’s first space communications satellite. 

Also, this week, President Berdymukhamedov received Iranian Vice-President for International Affairs Ali Saeedlou heading a delegation to inaugurate Iran's seventh specialized exhibition in Ashgabat, organized by Turkmenistan’s Chamber of Commerce and the Iranian logistics company Pars PegahTejarat. Some 70 Iranian companies producing construction materials, vehicles, textiles, foods, etc., showcased their products during the three-day event. The delegation met with Turkmen officials to discuss cooperation in the transportation, communications, and energy sectors. This delegation also was paving the way for a visit later in the month by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who plans to participate in Turkmenistan’s Novruz Holiday celebrations. 

On the home front, the Turkmen Parliament passed a new Housing Code seeking to guarantee housing to citizens, in accordance with Turkmenistan’s constitution, develop the country’s housing market, and provide citizens with some property rights when it comes to their homes. This is a welcome legislative change in an environment in which citizens routinely find their homes demolished for reasons not entirely clear to them as in a recent incident in an Ashgabat suburb, according to Turkmenistan Initiative for Human Rights, the authorities demolished private homes located near the presidential stables with no explanation given as to why. As a long standing issue many Turkmen have had to face, in 2011, Human Rights Watch wrote an open letter to President Berdymukhamedov decrying that, “expropriation, evictions, and house demolitions have taken place in Ashgabat for more than a decade and on such a scale that clearly violate the government’s obligation to protect the right to private property and the right to adequate housing.”