Turkmenistan International Relations

Presidents of Turkmenistan and Iran Held Meeting
Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov held talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who arrived in Ashgabat to take part in celebrations of the International Holiday of Nowruz.
During the talks, the two heads of states expressed their intent to expand bilateral relations, strengthen business contacts, and expand traditional cultural ties. They noted that in the last year, trade turnover between the two countries reached US $3,713 billion. Currently, 150 Iranian companies operate in Turkmenistan.
Sources: turkmenistan.ru, trend.az   

Presidents of Turkmenistan and Pakistan Held Meeting
President Berdymukhamedov met with the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, who came to Ashgabat to participate in celebrations of the International Nuvruz Festival. The two heads of state expressed their confidence in the development of strategic partnerships between the two countries, noting, in particular, the US 7.6 billion dollars Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project.
Source: presidentofpakistan.gov.pk  

Presidents of Turkmenistan and Tajikistan Held Meeting
President Berdymukhamedov met with his Tajik counterpart, Emomali Rahmon, who came to Ashgabat to participate in Novruz celebratoins. The two heads of states noted opportunities for cooperation in the transport and communication sectors, as well as the textile industry, and stressed the importance of the new railway which will connect Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan, and may become an important regional and international transit and transport hub. The Tajik capital Dushanbe will host the Turkmen textile trade fair April 10 - 15, and both sides hope that contracts will be signed as a result of the event.
Source: Turkmenistan.ru, universalnewswires.com 

Presidents of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan Held Meeting
President Berdymukhamedov met with his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, who came to Ashgabat to participate in the celebration of International Novruz festival. The two leaders discussed the potential for bilateral cooperation and named trade, economy, electric energy, and transport as priority areas of partnership.
Source: Turkmenistan.ru  

Presidents of Turkmenistan and Tatarstan Held Meeting
President Berdymukhamedov met with the President of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhamov, who came to Ashgabat to participate in celebration of the International Novruz Festival. The two leaders discussed possibilities for diversifying partnership in trade and economy, cultural and humanitarian spheres, fuel and energy complex, agriculture, industry, sports, and tourism. Berdymukhamedov stressed that while developing broad constructive dialogue with the Russian Federation, Turkmenistan intends to continue fruitful cooperation with its major regions, including the Republic of Tatarstan.
Sources: tatarstan.ru, Turkmenistan.ru   

Turkmen-Tajik-Afghan rail agreement signed
On March 20, the leaders of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan gathered in Ashgabat to sign a memorandum of understanding relating to a railway connecting the three countries. The railway will be 250 miles (350 – 400 km) long, linking the Afghan town Akina-Andhoi with the Turkmen city Atamyrat and the southern Tajik city Panj, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The leaders of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan invited Asian financial institutions to help fund the construction of the regional railway to boost trade links between the three states. The project is estimated at between $1.5 billion and $2.0 billion. This project is particularly important for Tajikistan, which is currently dependent on Uzbekistan for railway transportation, and will be able to transport oil and gas upon completion of the new railway line, according to the Kazakhstani website Respublica.
Source: universalnewswires.com, uk.reuter.com, gundogar.org   

Turkmen President Held Meetings with Heads of Foreign Delegations
President Berdymukhamedov held a number of bilateral meetings with heads of delegations who came to Ashgabat to participate in celebrations of the International Novruz Festival, including Azerbaijan Deputy Prime-Minister ElchinIlyasogly Efendiev; Kyrgyzstan Culture, Information, and Tourism Minister Sultan Raev; Turkey Energy Minister Taner Yildiz; and Deputy Chairman of the Kazakhstan Parliament, Kabibulla Jakupov. The meetings focused on partnership in trade, economy, and humanitarian sectors, as well as inter-parliamentary cooperation.
Source: Turkmenistan.ru, trend.az, Turkmenistan.ru    

President Berdymukhamedov Received UN Deputy Secretary General
President Berdymukhamedov received the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations Organization, Director General of the UNO in Geneva Mr. Kasymjomart Tokayev, who arrived in Ashgabat to take part in Novruz celebrations. The meeting focused on partnerships in the socio-economic, humanitarian, education, public health, ecology, and other sectors. Tokaev also made a presentation for students and professors of Turkmenistan State University of Makhtumkuli, focusing on energy security, water resources, environmental protection, demography, and other issues.
Sources: Turkmenistan.gov.tm, Turkmenistan.ru   

Relations between the United States and Turkmenistan have never been stronger: US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs
During the third annual Turkic American Alliance meeting held in Washington on March 12 – 13, “Energy, Trade and Development,” US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake said: “Relations between the United States and Turkmenistan have never been stronger. That is most evident in the open dialogue that exists between our two countries on the full range of bilateral issues.” He noted that annual bilateral consultations with the Government of Turkmenistan, which started in 2010, will continue with the next round later this year in Ashgabat. Blake stressed that he “had very productive meetings with President Berdymukhamedov and other senior Turkmen officials in Ashgabat” and announced that later this month Foreign Minister Meredov will come to Washington to meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry. The Assistant Secretary noted the importance of the Turkmenistan – Afghanistan – Pakistan – Iran (TAPI) pipeline project and Turkmenistan’s intent to become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), adding that the US “will provide technical assistance to Turkmenistan as it embarks on the journey to WTO membership.” Blake expressed optimism “about the future of our relationship with Turkmenistan and Turkmenistan’s growing engagement with its neighbors.”
Source: iipdigital.usembassy.gov 

Turkmenistan – Russia Tensions May Increase Over Dual Citizenship Issue
After a phone conversation between the President of Russia and Turkmenistan, during which, according to mass media reports, the two leaders “paid particular attention to the situation of dual citizenship holders in Turkmenistan,” Turkmen authorities began to take practical steps to terminate dual Turkmen-Russian citizenship. Throughout the last week, local government officials and immigration officers were visiting homes and calling dual passport holders, asking them which citizenship they have decided to keep. Employees of the Turkmen Airlines office located near Turkmenistan’s Embassy in Moscow asked their clients if they have dual citizenship and warned them that those with dual passports can only purchase tickets to Ashgabat if they have a Turkmen entry visa. On July 10, 2013, the old-format Turkmen passports will become invalid, and are to be replaced with biometric passports. The Turkmen authorities refuse to give new passports to holders of dual citizenship, forcing them to either give up their Russian citizenship (and thus lose their right to visa-free entry to Russia), or give up their Turkmen citizenship and leave the country. It seems that the last telephone conversation between Turkmen and Russian leaders was not very constructive and did not live up to the hopes of dual citizenship holders living in Turkmenistan. On the contrary, it seems to have provoked the Turkmen authorities to increase their efforts to push holders of dual-citizenship out of the country.
Source: Turkmenistan Chronicles  

Turkmenistan Rated Sixth Last in Democracy Index 2012
The research and analysis group The Economist Intelligence Unit (an independent business unit within the Economist Group) has published its annual Democracy Index 2012, which measures the state of democracy in 167 countries. The index is based on 60 indicators grouped in five different categories: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, functioning of government, political participation, and political culture. In addition to a numeric score and a ranking, the index categorizes countries as belonging to one of four regime types: full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes. In 2012, Norway headed the list of full democracies to be followed by Sweden and Iceland, and 22 other states. France, Italy, Greece, Poland, Hungary, and other states – in total 54 – were on the list of flawed democracies. 37 countries, including Ukraine, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq, Georgia and others made up the list of hybrid regimes. Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, along with Cuba, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, China, Vietnam, Eritrea and 37 other countries constituted the group of authoritarian regimes. It should be noted that Turkmenistan was ranked as 6th from the bottom with a score of 1.70 (out of 10) to be followed by Saudi Arabia, Syria, Chad, Guinea-Bissau, and North Korea.
Sources: eiu.com, gundogar.org