BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 24. June 22-23 President
of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov paid a state go to to
Azerbaijan, throughout which he held talks with President Ilham Aliyev
in Baku, visited the cities of Fuzuli and Shusha, and took half in
a ceremony for the change of signed bilateral paperwork.
Following the go to, the edges signed quite a few agreements within the
fields of transport, maritime delivery, trade, funding, and
different areas, and likewise confirmed curiosity in additional increasing
cooperation in power, logistics, and the manufacturing sector. As
a part of the go to, Azerbaijan additionally handed over an oil tanker to
Turkmenistan, which grew to become a further component of increasing
cooperation in maritime transport within the Caspian Sea.
The record of signed paperwork displays not new priorities of
Turkmenistan, however the subsequent stage of a coverage that the nation has
been pursuing for a number of years. Throughout this era, Ashgabat has
actively developed the oil and fuel sector, modernized transport
infrastructure, and expanded manufacturing capacities in trade. As
many of those initiatives strategy completion, the main target is
more and more shifting towards their integration into worldwide
financial relations.
This is the reason power, logistics, and industrial cooperation had been
on the middle of talks between the Presidents of Azerbaijan and
Turkmenistan – areas wherein Baku can act not solely as a companion
for Ashgabat, but in addition as an essential hyperlink connecting it with
broader regional and world markets.
Vitality sector
Vitality was one of many key areas of negotiations for a motive. In
latest months, Turkmenistan has been constantly increasing each
its power manufacturing capability and its potential export
capabilities. On April 17, the nation launched the fourth part of
improvement of the large Galkynysh fuel area in cooperation with
China’s state power firm CNPC.
On the identical time, the Caspian oil section can also be creating.
The state concern “Hazarnebit” and Malaysia’s PETRONAS have signed
a manufacturing sharing settlement on offshore blocks within the Turkmen
sector of the Caspian Sea, together with Blocks 19 and 20, the place
hydrocarbon assets are being developed on the shelf. This
strengthens the significance of the oil section of the Caspian within the
construction of future exports and straight will increase the function of
maritime logistics.
In opposition to this background, the growth of Caspian transport
infrastructure additionally seems logical, together with the switch by
Azerbaijan to Turkmenistan of an oil tanker that can be utilized for
maritime transportation of hydrocarbons between the 2 shores of
the ocean. This opens further alternatives for rising
offshore oil manufacturing.
On the identical time, Turkmen authorities are more and more overtly
discussing new export instructions. In April, answering a query
from Development, Batyr Muradov,
editor-in-chief of the Türkmen Dünýäsi newspaper, said that
Turkmenistan is contemplating fuel provides to Europe through Azerbaijan.
Later, International Minister Rashid Meredov additionally confirmed the nation’s
curiosity in creating power cooperation with European companions.
These statements match right into a broader technique of diversifying export
routes for Turkmen power assets. Development beforehand lined these
processes in its article “Eurasia’s fuel steadiness: How
Galkynysh may reshape provide routes.”
One other essential issue is Iran’s place. In an interview
with Development, Saeid Tavakkoli,
Deputy Oil Minister of Iran and head of the Nationwide Iranian Gasoline
Firm, said that Tehran is able to make sure the transit of
Turkmen fuel via its territory to 3rd nations. The swap
mechanism for Turkmen fuel provides to Azerbaijan through Iran has
already been applied, the place fuel is delivered to northern
areas of Iran and equal volumes are transferred to
Azerbaijan. In line with Tavakkoli, the event of fuel
transportation infrastructure may considerably enhance the
scale of such operations sooner or later.
In a broader context, this strategy can also be confirmed by
Turkmenistan’s efforts to construct a multi-vector export mannequin. In
explicit, throughout contacts with the British enterprise group in
London in February, Turkmenistan expressed readiness to broaden
power cooperation with the UK, together with discussions
on various fuel provide routes and long-term contracts.
Thus, the power agenda of the talks in Baku displays a systemic
course of: Turkmenistan is concurrently rising manufacturing,
creating Caspian oil assets, and forming new export routes,
the place Azerbaijan acts as a key transit hyperlink.
Transport sector
The transport sector has develop into one of many key pillars shaping
Turkmenistan’s home and overseas financial coverage. In latest
years, the nation has been strengthening its institutional and
infrastructure base in logistics.
As a part of this coverage, the Ministry of Car Roads was
established in February on the idea of a former state company,
marking a step towards centralizing street infrastructure administration.
On the identical time, large-scale transport community modernization
initiatives are being applied. The important thing challenge is the
Ashgabat-Turkmenabat high-speed freeway, which is being
commissioned in levels: the Ashgabat-Tejen part was opened in
2021, the Ashgabat-Mary part in 2024, and the ultimate
Mary-Turkmenabat section was inaugurated on April 10, 2026, with
the participation of the President.
A separate function is performed by the event of maritime
logistics within the Caspian Sea. In 2018, the Balkan Shipbuilding and
Ship Restore Plant in Turkmenbashi was commissioned, changing into the
core base for the nation’s shipbuilding capability.
On this foundation, in Could 2026, the brand new cargo vessel “Gadamly,”
constructed with the participation of South Korean companions, was
commissioned. The ship was formally put into service on Could 9,
2026, throughout a ceremony attended by the President of Turkmenistan.
It’s designed for dry cargo and container transportation and can
function on Caspian routes, strengthening the nation’s regional
logistics capabilities.
One other vessel, “Menzil,” has already been introduced, indicating
a scientific strategy to increasing the nationwide service provider fleet.
Development beforehand lined these developments in its article
“Baku-Turkmenbashi:
Turkmenistan’s new vessel boosts stability of Trans-Caspian
delivery.”
These steps present that Turkmenistan’s transport coverage is aimed
not solely at enhancing inner connectivity but in addition at
strengthening its function as a Caspian transit hub. On this context,
cooperation with Azerbaijan turns into extremely sensible, as Caspian
logistics varieties a key hyperlink between Central Asia and worldwide
transport corridors. Development beforehand highlighted this within the
article “Turkmenistan pushes
West through Georgia – with Azerbaijan as linchpin.”
Industrial sector
Turkmenistan’s industrial coverage lately has been
shifting towards deeper processing of pure assets and the
improvement of export-oriented industries, notably within the
chemical and petrochemical sectors.
On this context, cooperation with worldwide industrial
corporations performs a key function. In an unique interview to Development, Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries famous the numerous potential of Turkmenistan’s
chemical and petrochemical sectors, emphasizing that the
improvement of fuel processing may develop into one of many drivers of
the nation’s industrial development. The corporate additionally cooperates with
“Turkmenhimiya” beneath initiatives for ammonia and carbamide
manufacturing, reflecting sustained curiosity in long-term industrial
cooperation.
Thus, the commercial sector varieties a second pillar of
Turkmenistan’s financial transformation – alongside power and
transport – creating an inner base for increasing exports of
completed merchandise. On this context, industrial improvement is
straight linked to the necessity for dependable logistics routes, the place
Azerbaijan acts as a key transit hyperlink.
On the identical time, Turkmenistan is strengthening its orientation
towards European markets as one of many most important exterior vectors of
industrial exports. On this context, contacts with European
companions, together with discussions on increasing textile exports through
Germany and Slovakia, mirror the nation’s efforts to combine
into extra diversified logistics chains with entry to the EU. These
steps complement a broader technique to create a “European window”
for non-resource exports, the place industrial items are thought of a
key element of the longer term export construction. Development beforehand
analyzed these processes within the article “EU-Asia co-op: Slovakia and
Turkmenistan set transcontinental connectivity.”
Total, the go to of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov to
Azerbaijan and the paperwork signed throughout it mirror not an
growth of the present agenda, however a shift to a extra sensible
stage of cooperation in power, transport, and trade.
Turkmenistan is strengthening its manufacturing and processing
capacities, creating Caspian initiatives, and signaling curiosity in
diversifying export routes, together with the European course through
Azerbaijan. On the identical time, a transport base for increasing
transit is being fashioned, together with an industrial coverage targeted on
deeper processing and export of completed items.
On this context, Azerbaijan acts as a key companion making certain the
linkage of power, transport, and industrial flows.
