Dear participants of the forum!
Ladies and gentlemen!
I am very glad to meet you today.
My speech will consist of three parts: the first is devoted to the current geopolitical state of Turkmenistan, the second - to its geo-economic condition and the third - to the issue of coordinating joint work.
Dear participants of the forum!
As is well known, Turkmenistan is an independent neutral State. This year, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution recognizing Turkmenistan’s status of neutrality for the third time. This is a significant event. Based on this status, our country pursues a policy of broad international cooperation and “Open Doors” on the principles of equality and mutual respect.
Upon the initiative of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, 2025 has been declared as the International Year of Peace and Trust. This has found support from members of the international community, including France. In this regard, I invite you to take part in the international events to be held in our country on December 12 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of neutrality of Turkmenistan and the International Year of Peace and Trust.
As to the geopolitical state, it should be noted that Turkmenistan is one of the Central Asian countries, along with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. Iran and Afghanistan are our neighbors in the region. Turkmenistan maintains good-neighborly relations with these states, which are based on a reliable strong foundation of friendship and brotherhood.
Today, trade turnover between Turkmenistan and Iran has positive dynamics.
By the way, the industrial enterprises built in the past by your country, for example, producing Peugeot automobiles, are effectively functioning in Iran.
Speaking about our close neighbor Afghanistan, Turkmenistan maintains good-neighborly relations with it. A stable and equitable dialog has also been established with other States in the region.
We will continue to adhere to our policy based on the principles of neutrality. In this regard, I would like to mention the meeting in the Central Asia-European Union format, which was recently held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Within its framework, bilateral negotiations were held, where Turkmenistan reached a number of agreements with European countries.
According to the analysis of the International Monetary Fund, Turkmenistan is included in the rating of economically developing countries. Therefore, we will create a favorable investment climate for companies interested in investing in the economy of our state. We have formed a solid legal and regulatory framework that guarantees the reliability of investments: it complies with universally recognized norms of international law and is working effectively today.
We have developed and adopted two state programs for the development of the oil and gas, gas and chemical, agricultural and construction industries - the Program of Industrialization of the Country until 2030 and the National Program for the Socio-Economic Development of Turkmenistan 2052.
Over the years of independence, we have established and now maintain constructive cooperation with leading foreign business partners, including French companies, including such companies and business structures as “Sifal”, “Bouygues”, “Vinci” and “Schneider Electric”. They are actively involved in major programs implemented in our country.
The experience accumulated during the joint work with its positive results encourages us to look confidently into the future. Turkmenistan is ready to offer French entrepreneurs all favorable conditions for investment and further expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation. Proceeding from this, I would like to focus on five vectors related to partnership issues.
First: we are ready to further promote French products and services in the market of Turkmenistan, especially in such areas as oil and gas sector, satellite technologies, transportation, cadastre, water resources, chemical industry, pharmaceuticals and others.
Second: Turkmenistan is interested in applying French best practices in urban development, methane emissions monitoring, geological exploration, oil and gas equipment supply, green and hydrogen energy.
These issues could be included in the agenda of the Turkmen-French Working Group on Cooperation in the Field of Energy, the next meeting of which we propose to hold this year.
We also consider it advisable to continue the practice of holding international events similar to the Energy Forum held in Paris in 2024.
Third: to explore the possibility of attracting small and medium-sized French enterprises to carry business in our country.
Fourth: given France’s leading position in the world in the tourism sector and Turkmenistan’s significant tourism potential, we will establish cooperation in this promising area.
Fifth: we are interested in active partnership in training our specialists in all the above-mentioned fields.
We are ready to start a practical discussion of the above and other proposals, as evidenced by the participation of entrepreneurs from Turkmenistan at this meeting.
I am convinced that we have all the prerequisites for systematic planning of the strategy of economic cooperation.
In conclusion, I once again express my gratitude to my French friends for organizing this meeting and wish its participants fruitful cooperation.
